UPDATES

Towards the end of March we started receiving a heavy volume of Hotline calls and stranding reports about sea lions on the beaches of Rosarito, in Baja Ca. These CA sea lions are suffering the effects of domoic acid toxicity.If you a sea lion, potentially experiencing seizures, bobbing it's head, and appearing lethargic, DO NOT APPROACH the animal, DO NOT FEED the animal, DO NOT FORCE THE ANIMAL BACK INTO THE WATER. This condition can cause sea lion to behave erratically and suddenly be aggressive, and your presence causes undue stress. There is also potential for the sea lion to also have other underlying diseases, and bites and contact with the saliva and urine of the animal has potential to transmit disease to you and your pets. Instead REPORT these cases right away. Include exact location, pictures, and short videos taken from a safe distance of 50+ feet.

This season we have had a higher than usual mortality of grey whales. The majority of the dead whales were underweight and in poor body condition, indicating that there has been a shortage of food supply but we can't yet be certain that this is the decided cause of the high number of strandings. Researchers from PRIMMA lab at UABCS are responsible for monitoring these whales in their primary breeding lagoons and they collected samples for further analysis. Stay tuned for published results yet to come. 

This entangled sub-adult male CA sea lion has been reported to us many times! We have made several attempts to rescue him but he's clever and evades us. He's under observation and we will help him soon. He's still able to hunt and swim freely. His rescue is complex due to the heavily populated tourist area and requires resources and planning. If you have current pictures or exact location of this animal on any given please submit via the links above. Do not approach this sea lion, this only teaches him to be more fearful and reactive. 

We are a couple of months away from the start of the CA sea lion breeding season at this healthy colony. Pregnant mothers are arriving and soon you'll see more big males in the area. If you elect to do a 'swim with the sea lions' tour on your holiday please be mindful about what impact your presence has on these animals and under no circumstances touch, harass, or feed the sea lions, especially at this vulnerable time. Visitors should NEVER step foot on the rocks at the colony. You can report violations and bad tour operator practices to CONANP.