Sea lion rescued, cut free from nylon rope
The Vancouver Aquarium’s marine rescue team successfully freed a sea lion on Saturday from a piece of nylon that had become tangled around its neck and was digging into its flesh. Another sea lion, however, was too quick for rescue crews, pulling out a sedative dart and disappearing into the water before crews could get closer to help.
“We’re happy we were able to save the female,” said head veterinarian Martin Haulena with the Vancouver Aquarium’s Marine Mammal Rescue Centre and Ocean Wise. “The rope was cutting in quite deeply and she was suffering badly and would eventually have died.”
The rescue, which was authorized by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, took place Saturday near Fanny Bay on Vancouver Island. It involved tranquilizing and immobilizing a 573-pound Steller sea lion
with just the right drug combination to stop it from swimming away.
Video footage of the rescue then shows the crew pulling the sea lion closer to the boat, allowing Haulena
to reach down and remove the nylon rope while the animal remains in the water. Once the rope is untangled from the sea lion’s net, the sedative is reversed and the animal is able to swim away.
“Disentanglements usually heal pretty well once they are cut out of the debris,” said spokeswoman Deana Lancaster. Some animals, however, will retain some scarring depending on how deeply the net or rope was embedded in the animal’s flesh.
A second sea lion that was spotted with rope knotted around its neck was also identified for rescue. But a sedative dart that was shot at the sea lion was pulled out by the animal before the drugs could take effect. Footage shows the sea lion darting into the water within seconds.
“Of course, we would like to have had two successful rescues today, or more than two — 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,” said Haulena, who is the only Canadian veterinarian professionally trained to disentangle sea lions from marine debris.
The rescues require ideal weather and ocean conditions that allow crews to get close to the animal while it remains in the water, as well as the support of a DFO boat. Each rescue costs about $2,000.
The nylon rope retrieved from the successful rescue will be analyzed at the Ocean Wise lab using infrared technology to determine what kind of plastic it is made from and to possibly identify where it came from.
Those who spot a marine mammal in distress should not approach the animal and should call the Vancouver Aquarium’s rescue team at 604258-7325.