Neurological deficits in stranded California sea lions

Sea lions that are candidates for relocation to managed care facilities range in age, but stranding events can occasionally be skewed such that very young animals comprise a greater proportion of strandings.5 Young animals can present a dilemma for rehabilitation centres because California sea lion...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inVeterinary record Vol. 185; no. 10; pp. 301 - 303
Main Authors Hoard, Vanessa F., Janech, Michael G.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England BMJ Publishing Group Limited 14.09.2019
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Subjects
Acids
Age
Algae
Animal behavior
Atrophy
Euthanasia
Management decisions
Marine mammals
Medical prognosis
Mortality
Population
Rehabilitation
Veterinary medicine
Mexico
Vallejo California
California
United States > US
San Miguel Island
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Summary:Sea lions that are candidates for relocation to managed care facilities range in age, but stranding events can occasionally be skewed such that very young animals comprise a greater proportion of strandings.5 Young animals can present a dilemma for rehabilitation centres because California sea lion pups less than one year old have the lowest survival rate in the wild, compared with more mature age classes,6,7 and are largely dependent on significant maternal investment.8 Although specific survival data is unavailable for neonates less than one week old, it is suspected that survival would be dramatically lower considering their complete dependence on their mother. Cronutt, a rescued California sea lion that was placed at a managed care facility (Six Flags, Vallejo, California) due to in utero domoic acid exposure In a study summarised on p 304 of this issue of Vet Record, Simeone and colleagues surveyed rehabilitation centres and managed care facilities to determine the mortality for stranded California sea lions placed in managed care.9 Approximately 27 per cent of the sea lions placed in managed care facilities were neonates at stranding. At present, there are very few guidelines that permit frontline decisions to be made regarding euthanasia or placement. [...]there is a need for effective tools that can provide a reasonable neurological prognosis to guide placement decisions and mitigate uncertainty for the managed care facilities.References 1 Laake JL, Lowry MS, DeLong RL, et al.
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ISSN:0042-4900
2042-7670
DOI:10.1136/vr.l5400