It's 'stranding season' in the waters off the California coast, which means it's the time of year when some elephant seal pups accidentally wind up on the beaches.
John Warner is CEO of the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro. He tells KNX News' Larry Perell that it's typical for malnourished pups who never learned how to fish to make their way onto the beaches.
Warner said, "It's not so much of an instinct with elephant seals. It's a learned behavior," so if they are separated from their mother and other elephant seals, they won't learn the correct behavior.
Officials urge anyone who encounters a pup on land to call 1-800-39-WHALE, and the center will send a rescuer.
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Warner says once the center takes in the pups, they're tube-fed before they learn how to forage.
"We put them through what we call 'fish school,' and it's teaching them how to eat fish - literally that they can eat it, that they should eat it, and that it can be ingested down their throat," Warner said.
He says after that, they're placed in pools with fish to learn how to catch them on their own.
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