3 sea lion pups rescued from the brink of death released back into the wild in Rancho Palos Verdes

Three sea lion pups were released back into the ocean Tuesday after being nursed back to health.

The pups had been rescued and rehabilitated by the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro after being separated from their mothers as young as 3 months old. One of them was found being pecked at, nearly to death, by seagulls.

But the MMC brought the pups in to a groundbreaking new research project designed to help rehabilitate sea lion pups that were previously not known to survive in the wild without being under a mother's care at such a young age.

"Our vet rehabilitated these animals through a special new protocol that she's developed," said Amber Becerra, CEO of MMC. "And now we have them satellite tracked and tagged, and we're going to be able to monitor them."

The pups were among 31 pups that are part of the project from Dr. Lauren Palmer, the hospital director of MMC. A total of 10 pups will be tracked upon release for up to 120 to 150 days, or however long the tags transmit.