Sea lions rehabbed by SeaWorld San Diego released at beach on Camp Pendleton

Two female sea lions nursed back to health at SeaWorld San Diego after being found struggling on beaches in San Diego County surged into the sea off a Camp Pendleton beach on Friday, Jan. 31, in a way even Marines would be proud of.

It was SeaWorld’s first marine mammal release of 2025, and one of a few releases the facility has done on the military base with help from base biologists. The last release was a year ago from the base’s Del Mar recreational beach.

Camp Pendleton’s 17 miles of coastline are pristine grounds and base environmentalists work hand-in-hand with military commanders to provide important habitat for federally listed species such as the Western snowy plover, California least tern and southern tidewater goby, civilian biologists have said in the past. While base biologists have said sea lions can be seen off their beaches, most often the animals larger populations in Oceanside or the coves in La Jolla.

“There are lots of sea lions there and really healthy populations,” said Jeni Smith, rescue supervisor at Sea World, who was among the team releasing the animals.  “The conditions are good and they are ready.”

One sea lion, an adult female found with tremors on Solana Beach on Dec. 22, was picked up by SeaWorld’s stranding team after local lifeguards called about the animal’s behavior.

The rescue team noticed an orange National Marine Fisheries Service tag on the sea lion and, after inputting the number, found just days earlier she had been treated for pneumonia at the Marine Mammal Center Los Angeles. She’d been released on Dec. 17.

Smith said the animal presented with neurological symptoms that could indicate domoic acid poisoning – caused by consuming plankton that has become toxic – and was put on a protocol to flush it from her system.

“We’ve observed her now and there are no seizures or tremors,” she said. “Based off her behavior, she seems normal now.”

The second animal was also female, but was found as a pup on a sandstone outcropping at a beach in La Jolla. Smith said beachgoers reported seeing a malnourished sea lion that appeared isolated from others in the community.

“We were watching her, and we always want to give a little time to make sure she wasn’t still nursing,” Smith said.

After a few days, the pup, then 6 months old, was picked up and taken to the center. There, she was given fluids, antibiotics and, later, fish smoothies to bulk up her weight. When she exhibited the ability to hunt for fish on her own, Smith said a determination was made to release her.

On Friday, 1st Lt. Jorin Hollenbeck was among those gathered to facilitate the release and said he was ecstatic when the SeaWorld team selected him to open the cages to release the sea lions.

To him, the event was a good way to end his service time at the California base before taking on a new role at Camp Lejeune, a large Marine base along the North Carolina coast. He’s been at Camp Pendleton for almost three years and is finishing his 36-month orders.

Seeing the sea lions interact before going into the water was a real treat, he said. He even brought his wife and young son.

One of the top things on Hollenbeck’s bucket list before he leaves the Marines, he said, is to see baby sea turtle hatchlings enter the ocean and to go to Norway to see the Northern lights.

“The sea lion event is particularly awesome because our operational tempo at Camp Pendleton has been extremely high lately and we’ve been working a lot,” Hollenbeck said. “But, getting to do stuff like this is beautiful; it breaks up the tasks and lets you go outside into nature and just watch it in its rawest form available.”