On Wednesday morning, a herd of brown pelicans, survivors of Southern California’s latest toxic algae, returned to the wild. This year’s Bloom was the most fatal such event since 2015, when thousands of animals were killed along the coastal strip that stretches from Central California to Alaska.
This year’s intense bloom, which began in January, poisoned 13 Pelicans, including sea lions, which threaten beach fans, and many other sea animals in the area. Pelican took off Wednesday and recovered fully at the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Centre in Huntington Beach.
One of the rehabilitated Pelicans flies near the pier at Huntington Beach.
(Allen J. Scheven/Los Angeles Times)
The release took place just south of the pier, and community members were invited to monitor.
“This is always a special moment, not just for the teams and volunteers who have worked tirelessly to save these birds, but for the community,” said Debbie McGuire, executive director of Wildlife Nonprofit. “Watching them fly is a powerful reminder of why our work is important.”
According to a news release from the centre, the Huntington Beach junior lifeguard volunteered at the event, thawing the beach cages so that the birds could sway to the shore.
Junior Lifeguards will be taking part in a pier swim when the bird is released on Wednesday.
(Allen J. Scheven/Los Angeles Times)
According to Jaratt Dazey, volunteer coordinator for the Wildlife Group, the event was mostly a success. After the birds were released, most of them flew, but the two remained on the sand. The pair were taken back to the centre’s veterinary facility for more treatment, Dazey said.
“But overall, the release worked out well,” he said. “They came out of the cage, they sat on the sand for a few minutes, and they all took off and flew together.”
Thirteen pelicans were poisoned by domain acid, a toxin that occurs in algae flowers that algae can consume. Marine animals can then be poisoned when eating contaminated fish, causing abnormal behavior and seizures, Dazey said.
The birds released Wednesday were among about 200 people treated by Huntington Beach Wetlands and Wildlife Care Centres during a recent algae bloom.
(Allen J. Scheven/Los Angeles Times)
This is the fourth year of the emergence of dangerous algae flowers in Southern California, but as previously reported by the Los Angeles Times, this year has been particularly threatening.
Many sick sea lions were reported, and one surfer encountered what he called “Feral, almost a demon.” San Pedro’s Marine Mammal Care Centre reported at the end of May that it could be “the longest, most toxic and deadly flower that has ever experienced.”
The Wetland and Wildlife Care Center rescued nearly 200 seabirds in total, which stated Dazey was an unusually large number.
The levels of toxic algae along the coast of Southern California were beginning to decline by early June.
Toxic algae flowers can be caused not only by overproduction of nutrients in the water, but also by patterns of water and wind. This can “eat” algae colonies and lead them out of control.
The impacts of climate change can also make algae flowers more frequently and more severe, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Warm water temperatures and higher carbon dioxide levels make them ideal habitat for algae breeding. Both different rainfall patterns and coastal upwellings lead to more nutritious waters, only promoting algae growth.
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