pABC Nightly Newsbr /
March 17, 2013/p
pbMystery along the California coastline./b/p
paSEE VIDEO/a/p
pThe sea pups washing ashore. There’s an effort under way to nurse them back to life./p
pAnd Clayton Sandell reports in from the coast tonight. Hello? Marine rescue./p
pReporter: In 27 years, saving sea creatures big and small, peter is seeing something he’s never seen before. They do look so cute. But they have a bite ten-times greater than a pit bull./p
pReporter: He normally rescues 200 sea lion pups in a an entire year. But now, the animals are beaching themselves in unprecedented numbers. Tell me about this year./p
pThis year, it’s been an alarmingly high number of rescues. Done 200 rescues since January 1st. Reporter: The animals are showing up all over southern California beaches, skinny and starving./p
pScientists say they don’t know exactly why. They do know for some reason there simply isn’t enough food for the sea lions to eat. Commercial bait fishermen friends of mine, says there’s no bait in the water./p
pNo anchovies, no mackerel. Reporter: Just seconds after we finished our interview, another call. Tower four, Santa Monica, baby seal, very young./p
pEyes are barely open. Reporter: Peter carefully moves in. This is already peter’s fifth rescue of the day./p
pThe bodies will each other warm. They’re both severely are filling up. So far this year, more than 500./p
pTheir chances are what? Chances are great right now. Reporter: Until experts figure out what’s going on, rescuers will be on the beach, trying to save them./p