A Record Number of Mexico-Based Seals Are Washing Up Dead in California

Guadalupe fur seal

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October 2, 2015

The threatened Guadalupe fur seal could be the latest victim of the unusually warm waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Oct 1, 2015

Taylor Hill

is an associate editor at TakePart covering environment and wildlife.

The threatened Guadalupe fur seal is getting stranded on California’s coastline in record numbers, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Total number of Guadalupe fur seal strandings in California. (Chart: Courtesy NOAA)

The marine mammals typically spend their time off Mexico’s coast, but at least 80 of the pinnipeds have ended up on California’s shore emaciated, dehydrated, or dead. That’s a rate eight times higher than what’s documented in a typical year.

Of the 80 fur seals, 42 were found dead, and only 16 of the 38 found alive survived.
The unprecedented occurrence has led NOAA to declare an unusual mortality event for the seals, meaning its scientists will devote more time to studying the species, and more samples from rescued animals will be evaluated.

The fur seal’s struggles come during the same year that a record 3,500 California sea lions have washed ashore along California’s coast.

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