Five male sea lion yearlings on Sunday, July 17, emerged from kennels perched on the sand at Aliso Beach and flippered toward the rolling waves of the Pacific Ocean.
First, two went out together, then three more ran out. The group gathered at the water with two — seemingly kissing — then they swam out together leaping through the waves.
Each was rescued and cared for at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center, which takes care of pinnipeds, sea turtles, and other ocean life found across Orange County beaches from Seal Beach to San Clemente.
The pups born on the Channel Island rookeries a year ago each were dehydrated and malnourished. But over the weekend, they were able to return back to live in the wild on their own.
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Pacific Marine Mammal Center workers carry one of five sea lions to the shore of Laguna’s Aliso Beach where they are released on Sunday, July 17, 2022. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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A sea lion looks out of its cage while in the back of a truck before being released at Aliso Beach on Sunday, July 17, 2022. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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Curious onlookers try to get a glimpse of five sea lions at a release in Laguna’s Aliso Beach on Sunday, July 17, 2022. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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Pacific Marine Mammal Center volunteer, Bill Waters, keeps the crowd quiet during a release of five rescued sea lions at Aliso Beach on Sunday, July 17, 2022. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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Flint and Poirot, an inseparable couple, take off together during the release of five sea lions at Laguna’s Aliso Beach on Sunday, July 17, 2022. Spectators line the shore to watch the early morning show. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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Five sea lions are released early morning by Pacific Marine Mammal Center workers at Laguna’s Aliso Beach on Sunday, July 17, 2022. The animals jumped into the ocean and bobbed together before taking off. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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Five sea lions are released early morning by Pacific Marine Mammal Center workers at Laguna’s Aliso Beach on Sunday, July 17, 2022. The animals jumped into the ocean and bobbed together before taking off. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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Three of five sea lions make a beeline down Laguna’s Aliso Beach after being released by Pacific Marine Mammal Center workers on Sunday, July 17, 2022. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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Five sea lions, transported in Pacific Marine Mammal Center trucks, are released early morning at Laguna’s Aliso Beach on Sunday, July 17, 2022. The animals jumped into the ocean and bobbed together before taking off. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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Five sea lions are released early morning by Pacific Marine Mammal Center workers at Laguna’s Aliso Beach on Sunday, July 17, 2022. The animals jumped into the ocean and bobbed together before taking off. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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Five sea lions are released early morning by Pacific Marine Mammal Center workers at Laguna’s Aliso Beach on Sunday, July 17, 2022. The animals jumped into the ocean and bobbed together before taking off. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
While most were found in the sand, Chassis — hence his name — was found inside the chassis of a truck in Huntington Beach. PMMC’S Dr. Alissa Deming calls him “quite a character” for his naughty behavior, which continued while he was at the center.
Then there was Yoshi, who was rescued in San Clemente. He was first found by animal control who then alerted PMMC, Deming said.
Flint, who had an abscess, came in with “terrible pneumonia,” and Deming found a rock in the animal’s stomach. Sometimes sea lions are so hungry that they’ll scoop up rocks just to fill their bellies.
Poirot was found near Huntington City Beach, and Trifecta was discovered near the Newport Beach Pier.
The group is among the more than 100 animals the marine mammal center has responded to since January.
While Deming calls the season “average,” rescue teams discovered more deceased animals on the beach than in past years — including the nine dolphins crews found that were either dead or in their last breaths.
In February, rescue teams picked up 21 dead sea lions, six on a single day. Each animal had distended stomachs filled with recently eaten squid. Deming sent tissue out for testing, and she suspected acute toxicity, but the results came back “inconclusive.”
In the past, sea lions have become ill from toxic algal blooms that occur when the ocean temperatures warm. But, that usually isn’t the case in February.
“We’re still researching,” she said. “We’ve partnered with a group focusing on toxic blooms to better understand the results.”
Since that event, PMMC stopped releasing its animals for a while, and it still has about 30 in-house.
“We held them up because we didn’t want to release healthy patients into the ocean that could resort in mortality,” she said.
For now, the tide of dead animals has stopped. And Deming said she appreciates all the animal care groups in the county that frequently assist with identifying marine mammals in need.
“It is so important for us to look deeper into the ocean’s health,” she said. “It’s teetering now, and it’s time to act so we can get the ocean back into a healthy state.”
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