Injured Stellar Sea Lion Freed From Entanglement By Rescue Team
Jun 04, 2020 by apost team
Back in 2018, an entangled Stellar Sea Lion was found off the coast of Fanny Bay in Vancouver, British Columbia. Thanks to a team of doctors from Vancouver Aquarium’s Marine Mammal Rescue Center, the female sea lion was saved from further injury and complications after they freed her from the rope around her neck.
Recently, a team hailing from Vancouver Aquarium’s Marine Mammal Rescue Center saved one female Steller Sea Lion from a serious entanglement. The sea creature choked on a nylon rope that wrapped around its neck. The Steller Sea Lion was discovered around Fanny Bay in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was found resting among other species of its family. One of the team members tranquilized the sea lion to make it accessible. As expected, other sea lions scrambled for safety as the team approached the target sea lion.
apost.com
Dr. Martin Haulena, head vet at the Vancouver Aquarium, commented on the rescue mission when speaking with News 1130:
“It was a…very severe injury. That rope had cut in right through the blubber layer, right into the muscle, and was certainly going to be eventually the cause of her death if nothing could be done.”
The footage of the rescue mission gets graphic when focusing on the sea lion’s injury. The rope dug into her flesh, causing some visible cuts. It’s unimaginable what kind of pain this poor sea creature must have been enduring. Fortunately, the suffering was cut short thanks to the rescue team actively surveying the sea.
As soon as she was in the hands of the rescue team, one of the members began to untie the strangling rope. Carefully, he untied the rope not to cause more harm, although it took a few minutes to get it right. He ensured he was in sync with the sea lion to help keep her calm and let her know that he was there to help her and not to harm her.
After the rope was untwisted from the sea lion’s neck, one of the members administered a shot of reversals. These reversal injections are essential in withdrawing the sedation effects from earlier injected tranquilizers. The mission is complete, and now the sea lion can return to her family and friends back in the sea. The team watches as she returns to the deep waters and keeps an eye on how she’s holding up.
As she drifts further from the team and opens her eyes as the sedative fades, they say:
“There's your eyes. She’s, oh yeah, now she’s looking like a real sea lion.”
The world-changing team saved yet another day for a beautiful and helpless Steller Sea Lion. Before saving this Steller Sea Lion, the same group was tasked with saving another one of the same species that has been entwined with a plastic packing strip. Unfortunately, they couldn’t save it as it panicked and swam away before they could tranquilize it.
Dr. Haulena said:
“We know there are hundreds of animals entangled in trash and plastic on our coast, and unfortunately, we just can’t get to all of them.”
The situation may be currently catastrophic, but many nature lovers, including the wonderful team from Vancouver Aquarium, won’t stop at anything until there is change.
Dr. Haulena added:
“We can get out there and do something…a really big reason why I became a vet in the first place… to look at an animal that’s going to pass because of human activity that’s going to pass a very long, painful, or pass in a long, painful kind of way, suffering, and to be able to do something about that is an absolutely amazing thing to do.”
There is still so much to do to save the world and the life it holds. Dr. Haulena and his team have been doing a commendable job that deserves more recognition. Don't you agree? Send this piece to your family and friends.