Inside the fight to save California’s dying sea lions from toxic algae: ‘We’re like 911 operators’

An animal's chance of survival after domoic acid poisoning is 50-50, and this year an outbreak has sickened hundreds

It was just after 8am on Tuesday, a thick morning fog still clinging to the California coastline, and SeaWorld's animal rescue team had already made their first save of the day: a hefty, sick-looking sea lion that had been waddling dangerously close to a four-lane highway in downtown San Diego.

Now, in a private area of SeaWorld that few of the theme park's thousands of daily visitors ever get to see, the rescue team was in full triage" mode. Half a dozen staff members maneuvered the caged sea lion off the bed of a truck, and grabbed IV bags full of fluids and vitamins.