Wildlife rescue centers overwhelmed by sick marine animals

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A Marine Mammal Response Team member inspects a sick sea lion at Zuma Beach on April 22. Photo courtesy of the CWC

Limited funding for wildlife rescue organizations, most of which rely solely on donations and volunteers, has hampered their abilities in attending to the scores of sick and dead animals washing up on local beaches.

By Melonie Magruder / Special to The Malibu Times

Local wildlife and marine mammal rescue organizations have been inundated by the large quantity of dead and seriously ill marine life that have been showing up beaches running from Ventura down to Orange County the past month due to domoic acid poisoning. Animal rehab facilities up and down the coast are working overtime to rescue the sick animals, transport them to care centers and rehabilitate them for future release back into the wild.

“This is the worst I’ve ever seen,” said Jill Romano, director of business and development for the San Pedro Wildlife Center, a nonprofit animal rescue shelter. “Sea lions, brown pelicans, lots of other sea birds… we are losing hundreds to the domoic acid poisoning,” she said.

Domoic acid is a neurotoxin found in pseudonitzschia, the phytoplankton found in the ocean algal bloom that appears in early spring each year. Fish that feed on the phytoplankton are not adversely affected, but the marine animals that eat the fish can be overcome with a neural toxicity that causes illness, brain seizures and death.

Most wildlife rescue centers, including Malibu’s California Wildlife Center, operate solely from donations and with staff, from veterinarians to animal handlers, working on a volunteer basis.

However, the number of sick animals washing up on shore the past few weeks has so tasked the centers that they are forced to leave much of the poisoned wildlife languishing on the beach for up to 48 hours. A federal policy also prohibits removal of sea lions for up to 48 hours by any wildlife agency.

Cynthia Reyes, director of the Marine Mammal Response for the CWC, said that limited resources and lack of space prevent them from immediately rescuing every animal.

“If a sea lion can’t survive 24 hours on the beach alone, then he probably won’t survive being taken in for treatment,” she said.

Jonsie Ross, a member of the CWC Rescue Team, echoed the frustration of limited means to help the sick animals. “With domoic acid poisoning, it’s critical to get the animals in as quickly as possible because it gives them a better chance to survive,” she said. “One of our rescues on Sunday was in such bad shape that, once we got her to [the rehab facility] down in San Pedro, she died while being weighed.”

Ross lamented the loss as “heartbreaking.”

The poisonings, which are becoming a more common experience each year, came earlier this season.

“This year, we found the highest concentration of domoic acid ever recorded,” Romano said. “We’re not sure what’s causing this high concentration, but the number of sea birds and sick sea lions hauling out on the beach is overwhelming our volunteer staff.”

The potentially devastating effects on wildlife of more intense yearly “red bloom” has galvanized the scientific community to begin testing sick animals to try and determine a course of action. Blood and tissue samples are collected by staff of the various wildlife agencies to send to the biological research center at USC, in hopes that future bloom seasons can be ameliorated.

It has been difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of the increased algal blooms and subsequent concentration of domoic acid. Though some scientists attribute it to increasing pollution of ocean waters from runoff that includes fertilizer nutrients, the full correlation has not been proven, said Mark Gold, director of the local environmental group, Heal the Bay.

“Well, there hasn’t been a lot of runoff this year because there’s been no rain,” Gold said. “Algal bloom cause and effect is still a mystery.”

Karen Benzel, public affairs director for the International Bird Rescue and Research Center in San Pedro, is alarmed at the concentrated effect this year’s domoic acid poisoning has shown in local sea birds.

“The California brown pelican is about to be de-listed from the Endangered Species List, just as their breeding season is starting,” Benzel said. “Between oil spills, long line fishing and now domoic acid, their population will never be able to recover.”

Benzel said tourists and local residents become very upset when they find one of the sickened sea birds on the beach, but the fact is that resources do not allow the IBCCR to rescue every one of them.

“It is expensive to rehabilitate a pelican, about $200,” she said. “Money has gotten so tight that we are offering a pelican adoption program in hopes that we can rescue more.”

While the number of affected wildlife seems to be decreasing, Reyes and Ross both emphasized the importance of not disturbing a sick animal that beach goers might come across.

“They are wild animals and will bite,” Reyes said. “Young sea lions look so appealing, but if they are lying on the beach, they should not be harassed in any way.”

The Wildlife Center counseled that concerned citizens should not attempt to feed, water or move an animal back to water.

“Just call us,” Reyes said. “We’ll do whatever we can.”

The Marine Mammal Care Center at Fort MacArthur in San Pedro is holding its 15th annual fundraiser to go toward retaining its staff veterinary position. More information can be obtained by calling 310.548.5677 or online at www.marinemammalcare.org. The California Wildlife Center hot line is 310.458.WILD. Information on the IBRRC can be found at: www.ibrrc.org