Hundreds of Dehydrated Stranded Sea Lion Pups Baffle Scientists

Hundreds of emaciated and dehydrated sea lion pups have been found washed ashore on Southern California's beaches in recent months. Scientists are trying to analyze the cause of this phenomenon but are unable to uncover the mystery behind such a huge stranding, reports Daily Mail.

The baby sea lions were first found stranded in the month of January. Since then, there has been no end to the strandings. The numbers have been increasing with time.

According to data presented in Wired, a few rescue centers between San Diego and Santa Barbara have reported 517 stranded sea lion pups since March 13. Of these, most of them were around 9 months old, weighing half the size of a healthy sea lion pup. They not only suffered from dehydration but also hypothermia and malnourishment.

Scientists predict that the pups are leaving the rookeries early, but what makes them do so is a mystery.

The 517 sick sea lion pups have been shifted to five animal rescue centers in southern California where they will spend several months in a rehabilitation facility. Officials will supervise them and help them gain weight, providing them with complete nourishment before returning them to the sea.

The rescued pups will undergo some examination where the disease will be identified and the right treatment will be started immediately. They will be kept on nutritional supplements including nutritional fluids, gruel, mix of electrolytes, sugar, ground-up fish and protein, and then they will be fed solid fish food, according to reports by Wired.

What is really upsetting is that this stranding will continue as the peak stranding season is yet to come. The major strandings occur in April and May.

"We anticipate it will only get worse in the coming months," Sharon Melin, a wildlife biologist with the National Fisheries Service, was quoted as saying in Wired. "Sea lions are usually pretty good at adapting. If the system starts changing or becomes out of whack, they're the one that are going to show the signs."