Community Corner

Starving Seal Rescued in Seal Beach Is From SeaWorld

Safari is a seal, which is rare for Seal Beach, where sea lions are the norm.

Despite the city name, seals are extremely rare in Seal Beach, so when one washed ashore Thursday, it was clear something was wrong.

Lethargic and struggling to breathe, the starving animal lay on the beach Thursday morning until rescuers from the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach arrived to capture it. As it turns out, the seal is no stranger to humans. It is Safari, a northern elephant seal released by SeaWorld earlier this year. Last month, another SeaWorld seal, Yahoo, washed ashore south of Seal Beach.

Both are being treated at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center, where they will be fattened up with enough fluids and a steady diet of herring to gain about 100 pounds over the next couple of months, said Dean Gomersall, the center’s animal care supervisor.

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“They are a couple of repeat offenders,” said Gomersall. “They were released by Sea World, and they didn’t quite figure out how to fend for themselves.”

By policy, the Pacific Marine Mammal Center does not release rescued elephant seals until they are 180 to 200 pounds. The extra weight protects them from the cold water and gives them enough reserves to survive while they learn how to feed, said Gomersall.

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According to its tag, Safari was born in January, rescued by SeaWorld and released at 92 pounds. Today, Safari weighs 80 pounds, but the animal has already proven to be a voracious eater and could be well enough in two to three months for another foray back into the ocean, said Gomersall.

“We rescue a large number of elephant seals every year, and we do not get many reports of restrands, said David Koontz, spokesman for the SeaWorld Animal Rescue Program.

According to Koontz, SeaWorld does not have a policy regarding an animal’s weight when releasing them back into the wild. Rather, rescue workers and veterinarians look at the overall health of the animal, he said. They also require the animal to demonstrate a consistent ability to forage for their own food. Toward that end, live fish are released into the tank with the seals, and only the ones that can capture the fish are eligible for release back into the wild.

“We are not going to rush the release of any animal out to sea, but at the same time, we are not going to keep an animal in captivity for an extended period of time because we don’t want them dependent on human care.”

Northern elephant seals are not usually found in the area this time of year.  The closest elephant seal colony is at the Channel Islands. The animals can grow up to 14 feet and weigh up to 5,000 pounds. They are deep divers who travel wide swaths of the Pacific Ocean and are a favorite meal of killer whales and great white sharks. They are called elephant seals because the large males have an nose or proboscis reminiscent of an elephant trunk.                                                                                 

Few will ever see one in Seal Beach.

“We see sea lions once in a while, but to actually sea a seal on the beach is extremely rare,” said Seal Beach Marine Safety Chief Joe Bailey. “I have seen about for or five in my 20 plus years now.”

While the seals are rare, sick and dying marine mammals such as dolphins and sea lions have been a common occurrence of late, said Bailey.

“We get about two or three a week,” he said. “This has been going on for a couple of months.”

Over the last several months, dozens of sick animals have washed ashore in the region contaminated with toxic domoic acid, a naturally occurring biotoxin found in algae blooms off the California coast.

The acid is further tainted by fertilizers, industrial waste and other pollutants that wash out to sea. It remains dormant in fish and shellfish that feed on the plankton until larger mammals and birds feed on the fish that have ingested the substance.

That higher level on the fish food chain triggers the toxic effects of the acid. The toxin can result in seizures, brain damage, partial paralysis, foaming at the mouth and disorientation.

However, the time of year for those algae blooms has past, and a the Pacific Marine Mammal Center isn’t seeing the cases of domoic acid toxicity that killed dolphins and sea lions earlier this year, said Gomersall.

While there may not be a ready explanation for the apparent increase in dead or dying mammals that Seal Beach officials are seeing, one thing is certain: beachgoers should avoid them.

“Stay away from them. They are dangerous animals,” Bailey said. “People get too close to them and get hurt.”

Anyone who spots a stranded seal should call the nearest rescue center such as the Pacific Marine Mammal Center at 949-494-3050.

 Philip Friedman contributed to this report.


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