Vancouver Aquarium Rescues Tangled Sea Lions

The Vancouver Aquarium animal rescue team was called into action Monday morning after Steller sea lions were found tangled in marine debris.

Steller Sea Lions in Fanny Bay (Photo Credit: Vancouver Aquarium)

With help from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans the team headed out to Fanny Bay to find the distressed animals. At around 11:30 a.m. on Monday crews prepared to head out to the area where the sea lions needed rescuing, led by Doctor Haulena of the Vancouver Aquarium.

Crews looking for the tangled sea lion (Photo Credit: Vancouver Aquarium)

Once crews arrived at the site, they encountered dozens of sea lions in the area, but spotted the entangled animal right away. Dr. Haulena worked quickly to administer anesthetic to the entangled sea lion and crew members worked to remove the garbage on the animal.

The team working to rescue the sea lion (Photo Credit: Vancouver Aquarium)

Luckily the team was able to successfully remove the debris, which was just carelessly discarded piece of twine.

Here’s the culprit of today’s entanglement: A stark reminder to ‘lose the loop’ & dispose of debris responsibly. pic.twitter.com/hvkhuTrtcF

— Vancouver Aquarium (@VancouverAqua) January 26, 2015

The team then went looking for more sea lions that may have become entangled in the garbage but luckily it was just the one that was trapped. It was a successful rescue that could have been easily avoided if the garbage had been disposed of properly, instead of ending up in the ocean.

The rescue team is now back at the dock after a successful sea lion disentanglement. Great work by everyone involved: pic.twitter.com/RgS0aKPxGd

— Vancouver Aquarium (@VancouverAqua) January 26, 2015