In 2013, almost 1,300 young sea lions were stranded on California beaches, either dead or on the brink of starvation. NOAA researchers declared it an “unusual mortality event”.

Less than three months into 2015 and the number this year, to date, has reached 1,600 young sea lions.

Last week it was announced that Sea World San Diego would shut down its live sea lion and otter shows so that six of its trainers could participate in the massive rescue effort.

Wildlife experts currently believe that unusually warm waters off the California coast are driving sardines and other fish and other sea lion food staples away from the coast.

The pups are arriving on the coast after swimming away from the channel islands where the sea lions breed. Because of the food shortage, adult sea lions are spending more time away from the pups who eventually go in search of food on their own.

Because the sea lion pups are so young, and underfed they cannot really hunt, they cannot dive deep and they cannot swim far. According to the New York Times, “the pups are turning up under fishing piers and in backyards, along inlets and on rocky cliffs. One was found curled up in a flower pot.”

There is no telling how many of the animals are being lost at sea, unable to reach the shore. Even for the hundreds who are making it ashore, help may not be available because wildlife officials are being overwhelmed.

“There are so many calls, we just can’t respond to them all. The reality is, we just can’t get to these animals,” Justin Viezbicke, of the NOAA said on a conference call with reporters.

Local officials, who are taking the brunt of the calls, are faring no better.

“I’m just dealing with it one animal at a time, as best as we can. We rescued four today [even though] we are limited to three a day because the rehab center is so full. We had to leave some adults on the beach. It’s like a paramedic not having a hospital to bring a patient. It’s the highest number I’ve had in 29 years of rescues. We get like 50 calls a day on sea lions,” Peter Wallerstein, director of Marine Animal Rescue in Los Angeles County told Yahoo News.

In addition to starvation many of the animals are sick when they reach the beach, suffering from diseases like pneumonia.

This is the third time in five years that abnormal number of sea lions have turned up on the California coast. If it the warm water that is driving away the fish and causing the mass starvation then the announcement by NOAA on March 5 that California is in an El Niño event could help to explain why the numbers are even higher than the disastrous 2013 event.

According to Dr. Viezbicke of the NOAA, of the animals that have turned up to date, about 720 are now being treated. The rest were either dead when they were found or had to be euthanized because they were too sick to survive.

“What’s scary is that we don’t know when this will end. This could be the new normal—a changed environment that we’re dealing with now,” said Dr. Shawn Johnson, Director of Veterinary Science at The Marine Mammal Center, in a statement.