Sick sea lion chases after surfers in Newport Beach
Newport Beach surfers run from sick sea lion
Surfers in Newport Beach were seen on camera running from what appeared to be an attacking sea lion. Experts say they've been overwhelmed by the number of sea animals sickened by the algae bloom.
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. - Surfers at a popular Newport Beach spot had to make a quick escape, not from the waves, but from an aggressive sea lion.
What we know:
A sea lion suffering from severe domoic acid chased locals out of the water and up onto the beach. As some surfers tried to reenter the water, the sea lion kept aggressively chasing them out.
The local nonprofit, Marine Mammal Care Center, is inundated with patients neurologically compromised from the unprecedented algae bloom affecting our coast. The toxic algae bloom has been wreaking havoc on marine life for the past nine weeks, and it's monumentally worse than the three years past.
The number of affected sea life that have come ashore from San Luis Obispo to San Diego is now in the thousands.
RELATED:
- Deadly toxic algae bloom causing sea lions to become sick, violent
- Domoic acid outbreak sickens sea lions off Malibu coast
- Dead grey whale washes ashore in Huntington Beach
- Dead minke whale washes ashore in Long Beach after several days in harbor
Some sea lions and birds can survive if treated early, but more dolphins than ever before have died. Two whales recently died, a humpback in Huntington Beach and a minke in Long Beach.
What they're saying:
"These domoic acid events are getting bigger and worse and more frequent. That's horrifying. How long can all of these species take this type of abuse and still be with us? That's the question, and I don't know the answer to that," said John Warner CEO of Marine Mammal Care Center.
Along with domoic acid, the other neurotoxin making sea life sick is Saxitoxin, which causes paralytic shellfish poisoning, or PSP. The toxins disorient species and can cause seizures, permanent brain damage or death. And it's causing sea lions to become aggressive and attack.
"They're getting thrown at them. Some of the worst things they could possibly experience. And they're not feeling well," Warner added.
"I see them all the time in the bay when I'm out there fishing in my kayak, and they'll just come up to you and be peaceful. I wouldn't feel so comfortable about a sea lion coming up in my kayak right now," said a local surfer.
Marine veterinarians humanely euthanized that sea lion that they say was too ill to recover.