In a heartwarming event, three young sea lion pups, named Knoxie, Happy, and Halfpipe, were joyfully returned to their ocean home near Redondo Beach on Friday. This release came after they spent several weeks under the care of dedicated rescuers who found them alone and vulnerable, having been separated from their mother.

These pups were discovered in a state of severe malnourishment at various beaches—Manhattan Beach, Dockweiler Beach, and Will Rogers State Beach—during late January and early February. The team from the Marine Mammal Care Center took swift action to nurse them back to health.

“Today marks an exciting day for these pups as they get reacquainted with the ocean,” expressed John Warner, the Executive Director of the Marine Mammal Care Center, in an interview with The Post. He added, “For them, the vastness of the ocean can seem quite daunting.”

However, their return to the wild is tinged with concern, as the ocean has become an increasingly perilous environment for these creatures.

Alarmingly, there has been a rise in incidents where sea lions have been discovered with severe injuries. Veterinarians have identified a disturbing trend of violence, with animals being shot and mutilated.

Reports initially surfaced in The Post revealing that sea lions are being found along Southern California’s coast with gunshot wounds to their skulls, pellets lodged in their hearts, shattered jaws, and broken spines.

The cases stretch across the coastline, from Redondo Beach and Santa Monica to Marina del Rey and the Port of Los Angeles, and investigators believe the violence is not isolated.

Now, there’s a growing fear that the very animals released Friday could become the next victims.

“What we don’t want is the three animals released today actually come back before a year because they encounter the same fate,” Warner said.

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To combat the violence, the Marine Mammal Care Center is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to a successful prosecution. It is also launching what Warner calls a “marina watch,” urging boaters, dockworkers and coastal residents to stay alert and report suspicious activity.

“Someone is doing this,” Warner said. “And the only way to stop it is to make them afraid of getting caught.”

At the event on Friday, state Sen. Laura Richardson also announced new legislation to designate the California sea lion the official state pinniped, a move aimed at boosting recognition and protection for the iconic marine animals.

The designation would not automatically increase penalties for perpetrators of violence against sea lions, but Warner said it could shift public perception and make crimes against them even harder to ignore.

“There’s not necessarily greater legal protection tied to the designation,” he said, “but it does make the crime even more egregious.”

The push comes at a time when sea lions are already under pressure from every direction.

Warner pointed to warming ocean temperatures, toxic algae blooms and declining food sources as ongoing threats. In recent years, those conditions have triggered mass strandings and widespread malnutrition among young sea lions.

“These animals have been through hell the last five or six years,” he said, adding that his group is rehabilitating 500 sea lions a year. “Every time you start a new year, there’s something new hitting them.”