Record Number of Sick Sea Lion Pups Appear on California's Coast

Sea lion pups may be cute, but they're also in danger on California's coast. More than 90 malnourished and dehydrated sea lion pups have been brought to a Los Angeles animal care facility so far this year, but more are arriving every day.

Most of the pups being brought in are around six to eight months old, and weigh between 18 to 30 pounds. Healthy sea lion pups, in contrast, should weigh between 45 and 65 pounds.

Normally, the number of sick animals the facility sees by February is only in the teens. It's common to see some pups fall ill during the winter. Yet this unprecedented number seems to point to environmental disruptions that may extend far beyond the sea lion population itself. In fact, the number of animals admitted is expected to hit or exceed 100 by the end of the week.

Currently, it's not clear why exactly the animals are becoming sick. There's no clear pattern, and the young sea lions that usually get sick around this time of year suffer from a variety of ailments. These can include natural illnesses and injuries such as wounds from fishing gear or interaction with debris in the ocean. In addition, the recent food supply for sea lions has been good, causing an actual increase in the sea lion population--starvation doesn't seem like it would be an issue.

So why the increased number of sick sea lion pups? It could be because the overall population of pups has increased, or that they're going off on their own too early. Currently, though, researchers are unsure of the exact reason. In addition to caring for the sea lions, the center is also conducting blood tests on all of the animals when they arrive in order to see if there is any particular trend. So far, though, the data does not show any.

Currently, the center is on track to care for a record number of sea lion pups for the year 2013.