Sea lions are turning up across Southern California with horrific injuries — bullets in their brains, pellets in their hearts, jaws blown apart, spines snapped — in what veterinarians warn is a growing pattern of violence and not just isolated incidents.

The latest case was discovered on Jan. 23, when a sea lion named Confetti was rescued from Ballona Creek in Marina del Rey and found with two bullets in his head, the Marine Mammal Care Center in Los Angeles said.

The lucky lion was found in time and managed to survive — but many aren’t as lucky in the widening spate of attacks on the magnificent sea animals.

“It’s become one shocking example after another,” said John Warner, executive director of the marine mammal group.

The victims are being discovered along the coastline from Redondo Beach to Santa Monica — from Marina del Rey to the Port of Los Angeles.

Warner said the first shooting case that raised serious alarms surfaced in 2024. Sea lions were being brought in for symptoms like Confetti’s — lethargy and disorientation — only for veterinarians to discover they had suffered gunshot wounds.

Many of the animals, Warner added, had already been patients before, most notably during recent toxic algae bloom outbreaks that sickened and killed marine mammals across Southern California.

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“What makes this even harder is when you’ve already saved them once,” Warner said. “They survived malnutrition. They survived toxic algae blooms. And then they’re killed by people.”

Since then, the center has routinely X-rayed rescued sea lions. 

What they have found is a grim pattern: animals, like Confetti, brought in lethargic or disoriented, with no obvious external injuries, only for X-rays and necropsies — the animal equivalent of an autopsy — to reveal bullets buried deep in the skull, chest, or abdomen.

Another case was Gingerbread, a baby sea lion rescued December 13, 2025, from the Redondo Beach Marine Mammal Barge. X-rays revealed a bullet embedded in his skull — an injury discovered only after intake exams.

And Beau, a sea lion pup rescued the prior December from the Port of Los Angeles. X-rays confirmed he had been shot in the head and shoulder, leaving him blind with severe neurological damage. Veterinarians were forced to humanely euthanize him.

The cruelty hasn’t spared the youngest. Warner described pups brought in blind, neurologically damaged, their skulls riddled with bullets. “What would make somebody shoot and kill a helpless animal?” he said. “A pup? That’s depraved behavior.” 

A number of the victims were shot in the head

”Sea lions often surface head-first or lift their heads when they sense danger — and that’s where the injuries are concentrated. If you’re aiming to kill, the head is the target,” Warner said.

The weapons vary. Some injuries are consistent with handgun rounds or .22-caliber bullets. Others come from pellet guns — devices that are sometimes legally carried as deterrents but become deadly when metal pellets are used instead of plastic.

“When you replace plastic with metal, there’s no difference from a bullet,” Warner said. “Point it at the head and the outcome is the same.”

The killings are a federal crime under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, but prosecutions depend almost entirely on tips — photos, videos, eyewitness reports — that give investigators a place to start. And so far, no shooter has been caught.

Now, the Marine Mammal Care Center is making a public plea.

The organization has launched a $10,000 reward for information leading to the successful prosecution of anyone responsible for violence against a marine mammal. Warner hopes the money — and the spotlight — will make potential offenders think twice and push witnesses to come forward.

“People are shocked and mortified every time they hear this,” he said. “But shock isn’t enough. We need people to call it in. We need people to report what they see.”

The Center is also working with federal authorities to build what Warner calls a “coastline watch” — encouraging boaters, marina workers, and coastal residents who are on the water daily to stay alert and speak up.

“Someone is doing this,” Warner said. “And the only way to stop it is to make them afraid of getting caught.”

The Marine Mammal Care Center operates on an annual budget of about $3.5 million, supported by 22 staff members and roughly 400 volunteers. While Los Angeles County and several coastal cities have stepped up with funding, Warner said the Center still largely runs on donations — and on people who keep showing up despite the emotional toll.

“You’re seeing some of the saddest, most inexcusable scenarios wildlife face,” Warner said. “But you also see the care and the community coming together — regardless of background, beliefs or politics — all doing this for the same reason. They care about wildlife. They care about their communities. They care about a healthy environment for the future.”

That support, he said, is what keeps the work going. “When these things happen, everyone takes an emotional hit,” Warner said. “But people support one another — through words, through hugs, through action. That makes all the difference.”