Animal watchers are sounding the alarm about an entangled sea lion spotted with line digging deep into its blubber off the coast of Vancouver Island.
Photographer Netonia Chatelaine fears the animal, which has been sighted in Fanny Bay, won’t survive much longer if the line around its neck isn’t removed.
“It’s quite gruesome,” she said. “His wound is quite wide, quite deep. It’s right down getting past the blubber.”
Chatelaine has been following the struggles of entangled sea lions for years, and feels this case could be the worst she’s seen.
“He’s brutally in pain,” she said.
The California sea lion’s condition has already been reported to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, which is monitoring the situation.
DFO marine mammal coordinator Paul Cottrell told CTV News the animal could die if the line isn’t removed.
“It is a nasty neck wrap,” he said. “If it doesn’t break on its own it will likely be lethal.”
The Vancouver Aquarium’s Marine Mammal Rescue Centre has also been alerted, but assembling a response team is expected to take several days.
The centre has rescued a number of sea lions snared in plastic packing material and other debris from the area before, and estimates there are hundreds more entangled animals off the B.C. coast.
To report a marine mammal in distress, contact the Vancouver Aquarium’s Rescue Centre at 604-258-7325 or the Department of Fisheries and Oceans at 1-800-465-4336.
With a report from CTV Vancouver Island’s Gord Kurbis
