Federal officials are trying to determine why endangered Guadalupe fur seals have been stranding themselves and dying along the California coast, hundreds of miles from their usual habitat.
NOAA Fisheries announced this week that approximately 80 fur seals have come ashore in California since January - about eight times more than normal. The deaths have led the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to declare an "unusual mortality event" for the animals.
Guadalupe fur seals breed almost entirely on Guadalupe Island near Baja California, Mexico . . .
