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By Kaitlin Lewis
Night Reporter
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A wildlife rehabilitation institute in Santa Barbara, California, said that over the past few days, it has received hundreds of reports of sick sea lions showing signs of domoic acid poisoning.
The nonprofit Channel Islands Marine and Wildlife Institute (CIMWI) first posted to its Facebook page on Sunday that it was "inundated" with reports of sea lions in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties showing symptoms that include disorientation, head weaving, mouth foaming and other erratic behavior. CIMWI said the symptoms are consistent with domoic acid poisoning, which can occur after sea lions eat fish contaminated with the toxin.
By Tuesday, CIMWI reported that its volunteers were "managing about 100 reports each day" regarding the sick sea lions, which have been found along a 155-mile span of the Central California coastline. The institute noted that it was receiving multiple reports from concerned residents over the same sea lions.
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According to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), domoic acid is a naturally occurring toxic algae that is consumed by crustaceans, fish and shellfish. The CIMWI said these "filter-feeders" are not affected by the toxin, but that animals including sea lions, dolphins and birds are negatively affected if they consume too much domoic acid that "accumulated in their prey."
If left untreated, the poisoning can cause permanent brain damage in affected animals.
"This phenomenon of increased pollutant concentration from the bottom of the food chain to the top is called biomagnification," the institute said in a post to Facebook. "Predators at higher levels in the food chain, such as sea lions, eat larger amounts of prey, therefore ingesting higher levels of domoic acid."
The CDPH said that domoic acid can also affect humans if they consume animals that contain elevated levels of the toxin. Mild cases of sickness include gastrointestinal symptoms and headaches. In more serious cases, people with domoic acid poisoning can experience trouble breathing, confusion, seizures, permeant loss of short-term memory, coma or death.
If residents see a sea lion exhibiting symptoms of domoic acid poisoning, CIMWI said it's important to not touch the distressed mammal.
"Do not touch, feed, harass, cover, pour water on, coax/drag/push into the water or out of the surf zone, allow dogs near or get close to take selfies with the animal," the institute said. "These are wild animals that are in distress and they may act erratically and could bite!"
Instead of approaching a sick animal, CIMWI said, residents should report any signs of domoic acid poisoning to its volunteers by calling 805-567-1505 or filling out a form on its website. It is important that when reporting a sick sea lion to be as accurate as possible about the location of the animal.
CIMWI added on Thursday that it often takes "a lot of physical stamina" to rescue and treat the sick sea lions, noting that one team of volunteers "hiked over 4 miles" to reach a reported sick animal.
"We are very grateful for all our volunteers do to help these animals and for our beachgoer help too!" read the center's post.
Newsweek reached out to CIMWI via email for additional information Thursday.
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