Lucille had barely registered her captors' approach as the team of five animal rescue volunteers pounced on her. A small struggle ensued as the creature's body went rigid with seizures, but the team managed eventually to push her into an XXL portable dog crate.
"The levels we're finding inside these animals is off the charts," said Giancarlo Rulli, a spokesman for the Sausalito-based Marine Mammal Center. "It's all hands on deck."
Domoic acid, a neurotoxin released by phytoplankton, is causing symptoms like lethargy, vomiting, seizures, and even death in marine mammals along the California coast.
Domoic acid outbreak crisis levels since late July. Scientists link its production to specific conditions, such as upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich waters along Central California's coastline.
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