Officials say an unleashed dog attacked and killed a protected seal on a Northern California federal beach where dogs are prohibited.
A visitor at the Point Reyes National Seashore in Marin County saw the attack on the Guadalupe fur seal and called the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, according to The Marine Mammal Center.
A necropsy confirmed the cause of the female Guadalupe fur seal pup's death was the dog attack.
"In addition to the injuries sustained from multiple dog bites, the fur seal was also suffering from severe malnutrition, indicating it was not thriving in the wild and had come ashore as a last result," the center's spokesperson Giancarlo Rulli said.
The dog and the dog's owner allegedly left the scene. The attack is under investigation.
The Marine Mammal Center says Guadalupe fur seals were hunted to near-extinction in the 1800s and the only known breeding colony is on Guadalupe Island off the coast of Baja California.
Point Reyes spokeswoman Jennifer Stock says they are "very rarely" seen in the park north of San Francisco.
She says the skinny seal was alone and probably lost and searching for food.
If you see a marine mammal on the beach, The Marine Mammal Center says to keep a safe distance and call its 24-hour hotline so experts can rescue it.
