The East Bay Times is reporting that over 75 fur seals have been stranded along the state’s coast, with even more that have died in the ocean.
This is the second year in a row that the Sausalito-based Marine Mammal Center has seen a major spike in the number of federally-protected Guadalupe fur seals it is treating. The center has seen on average about five of the large-finned seals since 1977. Last year, the center saw 32 seals, most of them young and emaciated.
Last year, across the state, centers treated 100 fur seals around the state. This year, there are already over 75 seals being treated. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) declared an “unusual mortality event” for the animals last year. The declaration is being continued this year. “It has not been closed,” said Jim Milbury, an agency spokesman.
Guadalupe fur seals are classified as “threatened” under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. There are only about 15,000 of them left after being hunted to near extinction in the 1800s. They breed primarily on Guadalupe Island, 150 miles off the coast of Baja California. Sadly, like many other creatures on Earth, they have become victims of climate change.
The unusually warm waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean is one culprit behind the strandings and deaths of the fur seals. “As prey populations move away to cooler waters, mother fur seals have a harder time finding the food they need to nourish themselves and their pups,” the Marine Mammal Center said, according to EcoWatch.
San Francisco’s local CBS station reported that the fur seals, not much bigger than a dog, eat mostly squid, but warming waters have driven the prey animals further north, making it hard for the little seals to find them.
