Dozens of marine mammals were rescued in SLO County after being harassed, new data show

Dozens of marine animals found on San Luis Obispo County beaches were harassed by people or dogs before rescuers could arrive on scene to provide care, according to new data by the Marine Mammal Center.

Of the 124 animals the Marine Mammal Center responded to in the county in 2023, people or dogs either came too close, touched or picked up 27 of the sick or injured animals, the center’s data show.

That means nearly 22% of marine animals reported to the center — such as sea lions, elephant seals or otters — were harassed by people before receiving care from the center.

In some cases with young sea lion pups, it’s possible the animal would have been fine without intervention from the Marine Mammal Center, but because of the harassment the animal was likely to be abandoned by its mother and therefore needed to be rescued, according to Giancarlo Rulli, the public relations manager for the Marine Mammal Center.

“We are so lucky here on the Central Coast to be able to engage with wildlife and have them share our shores with us,” Rulli said. “But with that comes some extra responsibility and the need to make sure that we are doing that safely for the animal’s health, for human health and for your pets health.”

San Luis Obispo County accounted for 13% of the harassment cases recorded by the Marine Mammal Center in 2023, the third highest in the Sausalito-based organization’s 600-mile range along California’s coastline from San Luis Obispo County northward. The Marine Mammal Center is the world’s largest marine mammal hospital, and it conducts research along with rescuing and rehabilitating sick and injured animals.

The center has collected the data for two years and found that instances of harassment — including from dogs or people — went up statewide from 153 cases in 2022 to 203 cases in 2023.

San Luis Obispo County has placed as the third-worst county for harassment cases both of those years, behind Santa Cruz and Monterey counties.

In 2022, 30 harassment cases were recorded in San Luis Obispo County, while 27 were recorded last year, according to the center.

In one example, a young harbor seal pup named Jellybean was picked up by someone at a beach in San Simeon in April of last year, Rulli said. Although the individual who picked up Jellybean seemed to be well-meaning and called the Marine Mammal Center to come rescue the animal, picking up the seal likely did more harm than good, Rulli said.

“By picking up that cute harbor seal pup, it potentially separated it from its mother who could have been just 100 feet off shore foraging, saw that behavior and is now less likely to return to the pup because it’s been interfered with,” Rulli said.

It’s best to stay at least 100 feet away from marine mammals found washed up on shore to prevent any unnecessary stress, Rulli said. If someone believes an animal to be sick or injured, they should call the Marine Mammal Center before approaching ,as their team of trained volunteers can properly assess and treat the animal, Rulli said.

Dogs have also posed a problem for marine animals in need of rescue, Rulli said. Some animals found on California beaches had wounds that were from an apparent dog attack, he said, resulting in further injury or even death.

Additionally, some sick animals that wash ashore have been infected with leptospirosis, a bacterial disease spread through urine. Humans and dogs can get leptospirosis through direct contact with urine from the infected animals and it can lead to liver damage and even death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“These are wild animals. They can actually present dangers to you and your dog,” Rulli said.

People can help by staying far away from marine animals washed up on shore and calling the Marine Mammal Center’s hotline at 415-289-7325.