Bonsai, a juvenile male California sea lion, rests in a pool during rehabilitation at The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, CA. Bonsai is one of 220 sea lion patients the Center has cared for so far this year to suffer the effects of leptospirosis.
Bill Hunnewell / The Marine Mammal Center
The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito says it’s responding to the second-largest outbreak on record of a potentially fatal bacterial disease in California sea lions.
So far this year 220 sea lions have tested positive for leptospirosis, an infection that can cause the animals to go into kidney failure. During the last outbreak in 2011, around 200 were diagnosed. Dr. Shawn Johnson, the center’s director of veterinary science, said two-thirds of the sea lions diagnosed with the disease this year have died.
“[It]…
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