The SeaWorld San Diego rescue team picked up a California sea lion on Saturday evening after wandering on a street in Carlsbad while displaying what animal care staff believe may be symptoms of intoxication of Domo acid caused by a harmful flowering of algae.
The rescue team was called by Carlsbad police around 10 p.m. after the Pinniped was spotted on the cycle path on Boulevard Carlsbad north of Island Way, near the Pelican Point Beach campsite, officials said.
A passer -by called the police about the Sea Lion, which seemed to be around 150 pounds, the Carlsbad police sergeant. George Zavala said.
Seaworld workers arrived at the site around 10:45 p.m. and found that the officers had installed traffic cones to keep the cars away, Seaworld spokesperson said Tracy Spahr.
“She was more in the cycle path … Certainly on the road and the police were incredible,” said Spahr in an SMS. “They blocked the road for us so that we can be safe with this rescue.”
Since February, there has been an epidemic in the process of poisoning with domoic acid along the Californian coast due to a seasonal flowering of algae. A type of plankton called pseudo-nitzschia produces a neurotoxin called Domoic acid during flowers.
When plankton is consumed by fish or crustaceans, it goes up the food chain and when birds and the largest marine mammals eat affected fish or crustaceans, it can accumulate in their system. Toxin affects their hearts and brains, sometimes causing crises or erratic or aggressive behavior.
SeaWorld confirmed that the animal picked up on Saturday evening on Saturday evening had symptoms of suspicious Domoic acid poisoning, Spahr said.
More than two dozen sea lions and a handful of birds suspected of poisoning at homemade acid were treated during the park rescue operation this year. In February, the cases began to be reported in Santa Barbara and moved south. Seaworld began to get calls on similar cases about two weeks ago.
Humans who consume crustaceans and fish can also be affected. Friday, California Department of Public Health advised the public not to eat mussels, clams or scallops collected “harvested by the sport gathered in the waters of the counties of Los Angeles and Santa Barbara after dangerous levels of home automation acid. Warnings do not apply to bivalve crustaceans sold commercially from approved sources, which are subject to frequent compulsory security tests, state officials said.
Originally published:
California Daily Newspapers
