The hits just keep on coming to seals and sea lions and their relatives on the West Coast.
The El Niño effect made feedings tough for pinnipeds, and strandings of malnourished pups kept workers busy all year at the Marine Mammal Centerin the Bay Area.
Then the massive algae bloom in the ocean, with its domoic acid, also hurt marine mammals. The chief vet at the Marine Mammal Center, Dr. Shawn Johnson, tells us about the sea lion "tsunami" they experienced in the last year.