A severely entangled California sea lion is slowly recovering following a complex, multi-agency operation to free the animal.
The Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Society (VAMMR) says the adult male sea lion was so entangled that it could not eat, and it was one of the most severe the team had encountered.
The sea lion was first spotted on Oct. 20 with a gillnet wrapped tightly around its rostrum (muzzle), neck and inside its mouth.
The sea lion stayed in the area of Race Rocks Ecological Reserve in the Salish Sea, which gave the team the chance to coordinate with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), BC Parks, and Pearson College to rescue the animal.
By Tuesday, Oct. 22, just 48 hours after the initial sighting, a plan was in place to save the animal, whose health was quickly deteriorating due to malnutrition and the severity of the entanglement.
The rescue began when Dr. Martin Haulena, executive director and head veterinarian at VAMMR, sedated the sea lion with a dart, which caused it to fall into the water.
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The team tracked it using a drone and when the sea lion was fully sedated, the team moved it and rescued it.
“The netting was embedded so deeply that standard tools could not be used, and surgical scissors were required to cut away the entanglement,” the VAMMR said in a release.
“Over the course of 75 minutes, the team carefully removed the netting from around the animal’s neck, face, and mouth, with constant monitoring due to the complexity of the case.”
Lindsaye Akhurst, senior manager of VAMMR, described the situation as gut-wrenching and it was difficult to see, even for seasoned rescuers.
“The net was so tight and embedded so deep into his neck, and his mouth was completely wrapped shut,” she 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 — this was one of the most heartbreaking, but rewarding rescues I’ve been a part of.”
Once the sea lion was free, it was given antibiotics, pain management medication and was seen swimming away and later on a nearby rock.
The team said it was showing signs of recovery.
“Rescues like this highlight the ongoing problem of marine debris,” Haulena said.
“While we’re grateful this sea lion is recovering, we need to focus on stopping these entanglements from happening in the first place. These complex operations require trained marine veterinary professionals, but prevention is the ultimate goal.”
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