{"id":730052,"date":"2026-06-27T23:02:40","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T23:02:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/730052\/"},"modified":"2026-06-27T23:02:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T23:02:40","slug":"not-something-you-see-everyday-sea-lion-seen-upriver-in-petaluma-draws-appreciation-concern","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/730052\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Not something you see everyday’: Sea lion seen upriver in Petaluma draws appreciation, concern"},"content":{"rendered":"

A sea lion has again been spotted upriver in Petaluma, leading some observers to celebrate and others to wonder whether the animal is unwell.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot something you see everyday,\u201d wrote Petaluma photographer Bill Parsons in posting some photos and video of the animal on a Facebook page. \u201cSea lion all the way up Petaluma River. Marine Mammal Center is already on their way to do a wellness check.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parsons, who saw the sea lion Friday morning lounging on a riverbank north of Payran Street, told the Argus-Courier that he had personally contacted Sausalito-based Marine Mammal Center about the animal, which in the video appears to be moving its head oddly.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt did not seem to be in distress, but definitely would not be able to get back until high tide,\u201d he said. \u201cI also wondered if it might be a pregnant female, but that would be a question for the experts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AA sea lion was spotted far up the Petaluma River on Friday, June 26, 2026. (Photo by Bill Parsons)
\n\"AA sea lion was spotted far up the Petaluma River on Friday, June 26, 2026. (Photo by Bill Parsons)<\/p>\n

Although the sighting drew positive comments such as \u201cI love him\u201d and \u201cSo beautiful,\u201d others thanked Parsons for calling the Marine Mammal Center out of concern for its well-being. A similar visit<\/a> from a sea lion on the Petaluma River one year ago ultimately led to it being euthanized.<\/p>\n

That sea lion garnered widespread attention after swimming up the Petaluma River in June 2025 and lingering in the Turning Basin area for several days. By early July it had traveled farther upriver to the\u00a0Petaluma Village Premium Outlets, where Marine Mammal Center biologists captured it.<\/p>\n

At the time of those sightings, Phil Tacata, a marine science teacher at Petaluma High School, told the Argus-Courier in an email that \u201cThe thing to be worried about with the sea lion is if it\u2019s suffering from domoic acid toxicosis (DA).\u201d The deadly neurotoxin, generated by toxic algae,\u00a0 has been proliferating<\/a> in California\u2019s ocean waters in recent years due to climate change, Tacata said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat particular sickness \u2026 causes neurological dysfunction in the seals, makes them aggressive, act out of the norm, and \u2014 ultimately \u2014 die of brain seizures,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In the case of last year\u2019s sea lion, experts from Marine Mammal Center determined that it was indeed suffering from DA and euthanized it<\/a>.<\/p>\n

An assessment of the current sea lion\u2019s health was not available as of Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n

\u201cDA is kind of terrifying to watch in an animal and the rate of sickness in pinnipeds and otters is really high in Southern and Central California over the last couple of months (again, due to warming coastal waters and associated plankton blooms),\u201d Takata wrote in June 2025. \u201cI hope this doesn\u2019t mean that Northern California sea life is now at risk but it definitely wouldn\u2019t be a surprise.\u201d<\/p>\n

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