Researchers believe they have discovered the cause behind the increasing number of starving sea lions turning up along the California coast.
Since 2013, starving sea lions have been turning up on the California coast in alarming numbers.
Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz believe they have discovered the cause behind those occurrences, as well as others in which the animals exhibited uncharacteristic behaviors.
A number of the marine creatures studied were found to be suffering from domoic acid poisoning, and the source of the toxin is believed to be a naturally occurring marine algae.
The affected sea lions showed