Hundreds of sea lions in Southern California are turning up sick on the beach after being poisoned by ocean algae blooms. According to KTLA, Domoic Acid present in the algae blooms are infecting the sea lions, and there is no cure.
The Channel Island Marine Wildlife Institute took to Instagram to notify and educate followers of the situation.
"The influx of calls started on Monday and our volunteer team has been working from sunrise to sunset to respond to each report and the animals in distress. We are responding to 50-100 calls a day with multiple reports on individual animals. It appears Domoic Acid (DA) poisoning is the cause. Domoic Acid is a potent neurotoxin naturally produced in phytoplankton (tiny floating plants) by the algal diatom genus Pseudo-nitzschia," the post shared.
The institute also mentioned that the effects of Domoic Acid has been seen primarily in female sea lions weighing 150-200 pounds. According to research conducted by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, side effects of the acid can include seizures, short-term memory loss, and even death. Humans are also able to become infected through consumption of fish and marine animals that were poisoned with the acid. Once the sick sea lions go through an initial phase of reacting to the toxin, they will be removed from the beach and cared for by the Channel Island Marine Wildlife Institute.