Bubbles

When California sea lion Bubbles was rescued from Topaz Jetty in Redondo Beach, she was notably thin and lethargic, and she was covered in skin lesions. Our rescue team reported that the adult female was also weaving her head from side to side, which can be a sign of domoic acid toxicosis.

Domoic acid is a neurotoxin produced by harmful algal blooms. Fish eat the toxic algae, and then sea lions like Bubbles unknowingly consume the toxin when they eat those fish. But two days after her rescue, on Halloween of all days, we learned that toxic fish actually wasn’t the scariest thing Bubbles had eaten recently.

After refusing to eat for those two days, Bubbles vomited a sock and a balloon, along with some food remnants. It was quite a surprising sight but sadly, not that uncommon. California sea lions are curious creatures, and ocean trash items like balloons can be mistaken for food or something to play with but may end up being deadly once ingested.

Marine mammals aren’t the only ones impacted when balloon releases end up as ocean trash. Sea turtles are particularly vulnerable to the hazards of balloons because they can mistake them for jellyfish, one of their primary food sources. Balloons are also the deadliest type of plastic that seabirds ingest and are 32 times more likely to kill them compared to hard plastics.

You can help protect sea lions like Bubbles by preventing balloons from being released in the first place. Want an ecofriendly celebratory alternative? Just remember this sea lion’s name and release bubbles instead!

After about a month in care receiving treatment for domoic acid toxicosis and gaining a healthy amount of weight, Bubbles was released with a second chance at life.