According to the Marine Mammal Center, San Luis Obispo County has the third-highest reported rates of marine mammal harassment, following behind Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties.
In Morro Bay, rescue crews with the organization nurse underweight northern elephant seals back to health and return them back to the wild.
The Marine Mammal Center is a nonprofit dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of marine mammals with facilities all along the California coast. Every year, it rescues 600 to 800 marine mammals.
Shayla Zink, the Operations Coordinator for the Morro Bay Field Office, said recent data collected by the Center uncovered a disturbing truth behind these rescues.
“In 2022, about a quarter of the animals that we rescued were reported to have been harassed or negatively interacted with by humans,” Zink said.
More than 160 seals, sea lions and otters were harassed by people. Physical contact, such as dragging and poking with sticks, accounted for 35% of these cases.
However, the most commonly reported form of harassment was crowding.
Zink said marine mammals often come to the shore when something’s not right.
“They could be malnourished,” Zink said. “They could be sick, and people coming up to them does not help that process.”
Crowding can also cause sick mammals to retreat back into the water before marine rescue crews have a chance to intervene.
Giancarlo Rulli, the Center’s spokesperson, said it’s especially important to give animals space during their various pupping seasons.
“Oftentimes, harbor seal mothers will leave their pup alone on a beach, and they're out in the water foraging for that pup,” Rulli said. “And if people get too close to that pup, the mom is going to abandon it.”
Rulli advises people to use the zoom on their cameras or phones to take photos instead of getting too close.
“We're incredibly lucky, for folks here in Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo County, to be able to have such a plethora of wildlife in our own backyard,” Rulli said. “With that comes some extra responsibility.”
To report sick, injured, or abandoned marine mammals, you can call the marine mammal center hotline at 415-289-7325.
