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At the Monterey Bay Aquarium a crowd has gathered around the otter exhibit, watching the animals do somersaults in the water and paddle on their backs while clutching toys. “Aren't they fun?” an elderly woman asks her companion. “Bonk,” a boy says as one otter bumps heads with another. “Bonk, bonk.” Upstairs, past locked doors and an office marked SORAC (Sea Otter Research and Conservation), a different kind of otter action is happening. Aquarium staffers use nets to wrangle three otters from a tank into plastic kennels, so they can remove mussel shells and other food debris. ...

Over the past few weeks, sea lions have returned from their breeding grounds in southern California. They are showing up to the Monterey Bay in mass numbers. Some of these sea lions are entangled with fishing lines wrapped around their neck.

The pup, named Cyrus, is now recovering at the Marine Mammal Center’s Sausalito hospital.

Researchers warn others to watch for a deadly strain of parasite that killed four California sea otters and could spread to other animals.

Navy scientists in Point Loma, in collaboration with other researchers, are delving into geriatric marine mammal medicine, which could pay dividends not only for the Navy's animals but also for wild ones, and perhaps even for people.