A stranded and malnourished juvenile sea lion pup sits on the rocks of White Point Park waiting to get rescued by Peter Wallerstein of Marine Animal Rescue on April 5, 2013 in the San Pedro area of Los Angeles, Calif. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

GULFPORT, Miss. — Four young sea lions stranded on California beaches have a new home at the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport.

They were among more than 1,000 sea lion pups abandoned on California beaches since January.

Scientists are looking for the reasons behind the unusually high number of strandings.

"It's unprecedented," said Moby Solangi, executive director of IMMS in Gulfport. "It looks like something is changing in the environment."

Without their mothers' milk and protection, the sea lions are starving and dying, he said, adding many have to be euthanized.

Tim Hoffland, director of training at IMMS, tells The Sun Herald that the four pups flown to the facility are females about 9 months old.

Two arrived a couple of months ago: Kaytee and Sage. A contest to name the two new arrivals has been set up on the IMMS website.

Solangi said the sea lions can't be released into the wild and eventually will perform in shows at IMMS.

"It would not be good practice to rehabilitate them and then release them back into the same environment that has rejected them," he said.

They also will be used for educating children about mammals and the environment in a fun way, he said.

MMS has room for four more sea lions and Solangi said they will try to get two males.

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Mo, the Oregon Zoo's baby river otter, is seen being held by a zoo employee on March 15, 2013. It was born on Jan. 28. (Oregon Zoo/Facebook)