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Starving sea lions ashore in Calif.

Sea Lion Strandings Climb, Scientists Still Stumped
This year, an unusually high number of sea lion pups have stranded on southern California's shores, overwhelming marine mammal rehab centers. (Pacific Marine Mammal Center)

Starving sea lion pups are washing up on Southern California beaches at a rate more than five times higher than usual, and scientists are scrambling to figure out why. Since the beginning of the year, nearly 1,300 emaciated sea lions found stranded on beaches from San Diego to Santa Barbara have been treated at facilities across the state.