‘Severely’ tangled sea lion was ‘quickly deteriorating’ — then Canada rescuers arrived
An injured sea lion with a fishing net tangled around its head prompted a complicated rescue in Canada. A video shows the struggling animal and the hours-long process to save it.
The “severely” tangled California sea lion was spotted at Race Rocks Ecological Reserve on Oct. 20, the Vancouver Aquarium said in an Oct. 29 news release. Park staff noticed a fishing net “wrapped around its (muzzle), neck, and inside its mouth, preventing (it) from eating and causing significant injury.”
A staff member at the reserve notified the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Society which evaluated the animal’s situation and described it as “one of the most severe the team has encountered,” the aquarium said.
“Even for seasoned rescuers, seeing the extent of this animal’s suffering was distressing,” the rescue organization’s senior manager, Lindsaye Akhurst, said in the release.
“The net was so tight and embedded so deep into his neck, and his mouth was completely wrapped shut,” Akhurst said. “The sea lion hadn’t been able to eat for what could have been weeks or even months. We knew we had to act fast.”
The sea lion’s health was “quickly deteriorating due to malnutrition,” the aquarium said.
Rescuers spent 48 hours planning before approaching the animal. First, they sedated the sea lion which reacted by diving into the water. The team tracked the animal by drone until it was safe to approach.
A video of the rescue shared on Facebook Oct. 29 by the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Society shows the rescuers treating the sea lion from the side of a boat.
“The netting was embedded so deeply that standard tools could not be used, and surgical scissors were required to cut (it) away,” the aquarium said. The process took 75 minutes.
“This was one of the most heartbreaking, but rewarding rescues I’ve been a part of,” Akhurst said in the release. A photo shows the wad of netting cut off the sea lion.
After cutting the animal free, rescuers administered antibiotics and reversed the sedative. The sea lion swam away and later showed “signs of recovery.”
“Rescues like this highlight the ongoing problem of marine debris,” Dr. Martin Haulena, executive director and head veterinarian of the rescue society, said in the release. “While we’re grateful this sea lion is recovering, we need to focus on stopping these entanglements from happening in the first place.”
Race Rocks Ecological Reserve is off the coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and close to the Canada-United States border.
