Rescued Calif. sea lion to be euthanized

SANTA CLARA, Calif., July 19 (UPI) -- A sea lion rescued this month in California has been found to have incurable neurological problems and will be euthanized, officials said.

The sea lion, known as San Tomas, was to have been released back into the wild this week but because of the illness will now be put down in the coming days, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Saturday.

Veterinarians said the 4-year-old animal had contracted a form of toxic poisoning from long-term exposure to toxic blooms of algae she could not survive for long in a zoo or fend for herself in the wild, the newspaper reported.

Jim Oswald, communications manager of the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, Calif., said the poisoning destroyed a part of the brain that controls her ability to navigate.

"If she were to go out to sea, she wouldn't be able to dive properly to get food, so she would starve to death, or she could have a seizure and drown," Oswald said. "An aquarium or a zoo is not a solution for her -- her health will deteriorate in the short term. We will not be able to release her."

San Tomas was rescued July 7 after being in the San Tomas Aquino Creek in Santa Clara for weeks.