Get you up to speed: Sea lion found tangled up and trapped by plastic ring digging deep into its neck | News World
A female Steller’s sea lion, entangled in a plastic ring, was rescued near the port town of Nevelsk on Russia’s Sakhalin Island. The rescue involved the group “Friends of the Ocean,” who used remote anaesthesia to subdue the animal before removing the ring.
Rescue efforts were carried out by the group “Friends of the Ocean,” who employed remote anaesthesia provided by the regional Ministry of Health to subdue the sea lion. Following the successful removal of the plastic ring, the animal’s wound was monitored closely until she regained consciousness.
Environmentalists, notably the rescue group “Friends of the Ocean,” received permission from the regional Ministry of Health to use remote anesthesia for the first time in their operation to save the sea lion. The successful rescue highlights ongoing concerns about increasing pollution from marine debris in Nevelsk, which poses significant risks to the local Steller sea lion population.
What remains unclear — It is unknown whether further measures will be taken to address the increasing pollution from plastic debris in Nevelsk.
Sea lion rescued after becoming trapped by plastic ring on Sakhalin Island
The sea lion was tangled up near Nevelsk on Russia’s Sakhalin Island (Picture: Yuri Smityuk/Cover Images)
A sea lion with a dangerous plastic ring wrapped around its neck has been rescued in a dramatic operation.
The female Steller’s sea lion, a protected species, was spotted tangled up in the plastic loop near the port town of Nevelsk on Russia’s Sakhalin Island.
Photos show the animal resting on a breakwater rock alongside other sea lions as a rescue boat carrying a team of specialists approaches.
Nevelsk in the Sakhalin Region, Russia.(Picture: Yuri Smityuk/Cover Images)
For the first time, environmentalists were allowed to use remote anesthesia to subdue the sea lion, using medication provided by the regional Ministry of Health.
Rescuers subdued the sea lion with anesthesia.(Picture: Yuri Smityuk/Cover Images)
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Rescue group “Friends of the Ocean” approached the breakwater and fired a dart at the animal.
The rescuers then carefully made their way across the rocks before removing the plastic ring, ending the sea lion’s ordeal.
Nevelsk is a popular gathering place for the sea lions. (Picture: Yuri Smityuk/Cover Images)
The ring had cut deeply into the sea lion’s flesh, leaving a severe wound that rescuers feared would worsen if it was not removed.
Rescuers administered a second medication to reverse the anesthesia, and monitored her until she regained consciousness.
The successful rescue took place on a breakwater near Nevelsk, on the southwest coast of Sakhalin Island.
Nevelsk is facing increasing pollution from plastic debris (Picture: Yuri Smityuk/Cover Images)
It’s one of the only places in the world where Steller sea lions gather directly in a town port, with hundreds of the animals often packed together.
But the area has become polluted by marine debris which can pose a serious risk to the animals’ safety.
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