The Marine Mammal Center has safely secured a sea lion pup who was waddling through the streets of the Marina District, ABC 7 reports. It was eventually captured with a net after it was found sitting under a car on Divisadero Street early this morning at around 7 a.m.
Unfortunately, it's not a good sign, and we might expect to see more and more distressed sea lions like this pup. A dearth of sardines, which resulted in a ban on West Coast sardine fishing this season, has brought a record number of sea lions onto California's beaches starving for food. Sadly, 70 percent of sea lion pups will die this year as a result of starvation, according to fisheries scientists.
Back in February we saw this video of one of the many malnourished pups flooding the Marine Mammal Center in San Rafael. At the time it was speculated that the number of stranded animals on the coast had already exceeded the last "unusual mortality event," which was in 2013.
WATCH: @TMMC workers rescue "Rubbish" the sea lion from under car in the Marina. http://t.co/CDrBRitkn8 pic.twitter.com/YvdcGDsWjt
— NBC Bay Area (@nbcbayarea) April 30, 2015
Look who was caught wandering around the streets of San Francisco this morning... Apparently he's a repeat offender! pic.twitter.com/CaBRSXsONJ
— Amy Hollyfield (@amyhollyfield) April 30, 2015
Previously: Commercial Sardine Fishing Banned As Plummeting Population Starves Sea Lions
