If you’re headed to the beaches of Southern California, please take note.
Sea lions, along with other ocean-dwelling mammals, have fallen victim to poisoning. And it’s changing their behavior.
The Los Angeles Times reports how these sea creatures have been ingesting what’s known as domoic acid, a naturally-occurring neurotoxin that’s produced by algae blooms. Roughly 140 sea lions have been taken in and treated by the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro after eating this algae; at least 50 dolphins, too, fell ill.
The Marine Mammal Center explains how domoic acid — which is caused specifically by the algae Pseudo-nitzschia australis — attacks the brain and the heart, causing seizures and heart failure. It also causes sea lions to act aggressively.
One surfer, according to CBS Local Los Angeles, was attacked on Friday by one such “feral, almost demonic” sea lion afflicted by the toxin. The animal bit and dragged the man off his board, and even continued to follow him as he attempted to paddle away.
As such, local experts and area officials are urging people to stay away from sea lions on beaches all along the Californian coast.
Marine Mammal Care Center Chief Executive, John Warner, informs the Los Angeles Times how large domoic acid blooms tend to occur every three to seven years. However, they appear to be worsening over time due to human activity — plus the warming of the ocean as well as nitrate runoff — that’s exacerbating such stranding events.
“I liken it to a bloom put on steroids from human-caused factors that make these blooms worse every time we see them,” he tells the publication.
The last time a bloom of this scale was seen was in 2023. Unfortunately, experts state there is not much they can do to mitigate the bloom until they go away naturally in roughly four to eight weeks.