SANTA ANA, Calif. — When Balboa Island resident Barbara De La Pena looked out her window and saw Newport Beach city workers prepping to bury a dead sea lion on the sand in front of her home, she stopped them.
Over two decades, De La Pena has seen her share of sea life, including a baby sea lion pup at her back patio door. An avid animal lover, she’s also witnessed strandings, sick animals and occasionally dead marine mammals, and she’s been in touch with city workers about the proper care. But when she saw the large adult sea lion lifted by a backhoe from the sand to a deep hole, she ran out.
“I said that the proper disposal should include a call to Pacific Marine Mammal Center,” De La Pena said. The Newport Beach resident has long been a fan of the rescue work the Laguna Beach center does and kept tabs on how it’s broadened out to research overall ocean health.
