Starving seals and sea lions are waddling ashore along California's coast, their skin sagging off their gaunt bodies like oversized coats. Already, thousands have died since summer. Warmer water from this year's El Nino weather pattern has driven away fish and squid the mammals eat to survive, forcing them to leave their island habitats for the mainland to find food. On islands from San Francisco to San Diego, beaches are littered with carcasses of California sea lions and northern fur seals.
Sea gulls pick at some bodies.
Others lay dying, barely moving. Seal Samaritans are rescuing some of the emaciated animals as they flounder on beaches and nursing them back to health. But researchers say it's part of the natural cycle of life and are making no effort to save the seals. Mother seals have been forced to dive deeper and travel farther for food, exhausting more energy and spending more time away from their pups. The milk they use to feed their young becomes undernourished, as do the pups that drink it.