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Bibiana Beltran said the doctor at the emergency room contacted a local marine mammal center for advice on how to treat a sea lion attack, because the doctor had never seen one before.

“Species at each level of the food chain, from invertebrates to fish, birds, marine mammals and humans, can be affected differently based on their physiology and feeding strategies,” she said.

Sea lions and other ocean mammals in Southern California are falling victim to a poisoning event that a local expert calls the worst in recent memory.

At first, the arrival of the giant mammals was not terribly controversial.

Donna Mouat had spotted the mammal outside her home in South Nesting while cooking dinner.