Animal advocates gathered in Venice Beach on Wednesday to celebrate the release of four sea lion pups back into the wild.
Upon their release, the young marine mammals made their way toward freedom cautiously at first, though they quickly spotted the ocean and made their way into the Pacific waves.
A Marine Mammal Care Center volunteer named Kayla told affiliate KTLA’s Erin Myers that two of the youngsters had sustained shark bites, while the other two were “malnourished and super skinny.”
“It’s really nice seeing them get their weight back, and [one of the pups named] Spiderling especially had a really deep wound, so seeing her recover is really good,” Kayla said.
These four pups came to the center amid a crisis in Southern California’s ocean waters, as many sea creatures had been sickened by domoic acid, which is produced by algae blooms.
Kayla noted that they typically get about 2,000 calls for service each year, but due to this recent bloom, they’ve received 4,000 already this year.
That bloom began in February, and though the San Pedro-based MMCC said the danger has largely passed as of last month, algae blooms are expected to return, especially as climate change makes the oceans more acidic, conditions under which algae thrive.
The MMCC has partnered with L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath to better prepare for the next algae bloom.
