The pregnant sea lion was alone on a rocky shoreline in Imperial Beach. Suffering from a suspected case of domoic acid poisoning, the animal cycled through troubling movements: first, her head would bob and wave;

There's been a recent increase in the number of sea lions becoming sick along the California coast. Marine biologists say the cause is domoic acid, a neurotoxin found within algae blooms. Fish feed on those algae blooms, and sea lions who feed on those fish end up getting sick from the domoic acid in the fish they eat.