LAGUNA BEACH--Small but notable numbers of California sea lions are dying of cancer that appears to originate in the animal’s urinary systems and reproductive organs, then spreads.

Richard Evans, medical director of the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach, says there’s been a 20 percent increase in the number of sea lion cancer patients.

There’s also no indication that the cancer will cause a widespread die-off of sea lions, which were once hunted to near extinction. But Evans says it’s important to identify the precise cause of the cancer, and how widely it occurs.

Evans stressed that the animals, which sometimes approach humans in local waters, aren’t passing it on to people. (Source: Orange County Register)

Story Date: September 16, 2008