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Malibu surfside news | July 18, 2019 | 3
Wildlife rescuer highlights unusual trends
Barbara Burke
Freelance Reporter
“Something troublesome
is definitely going on in
the ocean,” said Heather
Henderson, marine mammal
stranding coordinator
for the California Wildlife
Center during a presentation
at the Malibu Library
on July 9.
Henderson discussed incidents
involving marine
animals stranding on beaches
in and near Malibu, and
some peculiar marine animal
behaviors in the area.
“We’ve had some unusual
marine mammal sightings
in the past year,” Henderson
said. “For instance,
we know that gray whales
migrate north from February
to April after spending
the winter in lagoons off
the coast of Mexico and
they have a pattern of hugging
the coast, so we are
used to seeing them very
close to shore at places
such as Westward Beach,
where the shelf is very
close to land. However,
we have been seeing them
at unusual places, such as
Carbon Beach and off of
Malibu Road and we will
have to conduct further
studies to figure out why.”
Usually, a mother gray
whale and her calf will
come close to shore because
the mother knows
that her young can fall
prey to orcas and sharks
in deeper waters, Henderson
explained, adding that
a mother often guides her
young near shore because
she is teaching her calf to
drag its face along the shelf
to filter feed.
Pinnipeds, such as seals
and sea lions, regularly
come out of the water, often
to sun or rest, Henderson
said.
“However, when you
see a cetacean, such as a
dolphin or a whale, on the
beach or in rocky areas near
the beach, that is a sign that
something is extremely
wrong and therefore, you
should immediately call us
so we can render aid.”
Henderson discussed
some troublesome statistics.
“We have seen a spike in
strandings of marine animals
since 2018,” she said.
“To date, we’ve had 170
strandings in 2019, and that
is very unusual.”
Moreover, the types of
animals that are stranding
are unusual, Henderson
said, noting that a Guadalupe
fur seal recently
beached, when officials had
not seen one in many years,
as did a pygmy whale and a
Risso’s dolphin.
“One troublesome trend
is that we are witnessing
more cetaceans washing up
on shore in very poor shape
or already dead,” she said.
“We do not know why and
we are trying to perform
post-mortem exams to
gather more data and obtain
some answers.”
Some strandings of animals
occur in predictable
patterns each year, Henderson
explained.
“For instance, seals give
birth at the end of December
and then, they only
nurse for approximately
one month, not allowing
time for the young to learn
much from their mothers,”
she said. “They are
good timekeepers and so
we know that beginning in
March, we will start to see
stranded seal pups that haul
out onto shore and need a
little help.”
As she spoke, Henderson
showed a picture of an
California Wildlife Center’s Heather Henderson, marine mammal stranding coordinator, shares information about
marine mammal rehabilitation and more at the Malibu Library on July 9. Stephanie Chaisson/Surfside News
emaciated seal, and the attendees
collectively sighed.
There was a happy ending
for the seal pup, Henderson
said.
“We knew it had some
chance to survive because
if you look closely at the
picture of the stranded
seal on the beach, you will
see that it had covered itself
with sand and they
do so to thermo-regulate,
so we knew it had a little
strength left because it did
that.”
Nature’s processes
sometimes cause marine
mammals to strand,
Henderson noted, as she
showed a picture of a
California sea lion that
most likely succumbed to
Domoic acid poisoning.
“Sea lions and other
cetaceans sometimes eat
shellfish and other fish that
are affected by the neurotoxin,
Domoic acid, which
blooms in algae in late
spring and makes cetaceans
dazed and confused and,
sometimes, might even
make them have seizures
or have seizure-like behaviors,”
Henderson said.
“Then, they will haul out
on the rocks and we try to
help them recover.”
Domoic acid poisoning is
prominent in adult females
because they are ingesting
a lot of fish before mating
season, she said.
If small cetaceans such
as dolphins or small whales
beach, officials at the California
Wildlife Center can
usually remove them from
the beach and transport
Please see CWC, 13
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