A distressed adult male Steller sea lion that was rescued off a Ucluelet beach and transported to the Vancouver Aquarium乌鸦传媒檚 Marine Mammal Rescue Centre on Thursday night is believed to have suffered at least one gunshot to the head.
乌鸦传媒淚t does look like there乌鸦传媒檚 some pretty serious metal density in his skull, so I have to assume they乌鸦传媒檙e some kind of bullet or pellet, fairly large gauge,乌鸦传媒� the centre乌鸦传媒檚 head veterinarian Dr. Martin Haulena told the Westerly News on Friday. 乌鸦传媒淚 don乌鸦传媒檛 know whether it乌鸦传媒檚 one really large bullet that fragmented into two major pieces, but it certainly looks pretty serious.乌鸦传媒�
He said the centre乌鸦传媒檚 staff will try to stabilize the sea lion over the weekend with antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medication to help with the pain it is in before taking a closer look at its injuries next week, but added that the animal乌鸦传媒檚 chances of survival do not look promising.
乌鸦传媒淗e乌鸦传媒檚 very lethargic, very weak, he乌鸦传媒檚 been allowing people to come up to him so I have to assume that there乌鸦传媒檚 some pretty serious degree of head trauma,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淯nfortunately, with a big sea lion like that, if he乌鸦传媒檚 letting people approach, it乌鸦传媒檚 usually something pretty serious.乌鸦传媒�
He added the sea lion may have been blinded.
乌鸦传媒淩ight now, he乌鸦传媒檚 got one eye tightly shut, the other eye乌鸦传媒檚 pupil is dilated and doesn乌鸦传媒檛 appear to be visual at all. He might be a blind sea lion, which is obviously a problem for release,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淲e really need to evaluate that other eye and then really see what the degree of injury is from the bullets; where they are, what they乌鸦传媒檝e hurt, what they乌鸦传媒檝e damaged and evaluate his quality of life as well as whether he can be releasable or not乌鸦传媒乌鸦传媒檓 a bit worried about him for sure.乌鸦传媒�
The sea lion was reported to the Marine Mammal Rescue Centre and Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada on Wednesday and a rescue team assembled in Ucluelet to capture it and transport it to the rescue centre Thursday night.
Collecting the sea lion was a tough task as it had beached itself high up a rocky shoreline near Ucluelet乌鸦传媒檚 fuel dock. The rescue team tranquilized the animal and were assisted by local volunteers to carry it to the edge of a cement wall adjacent to the beach where a Windsor Plywood truck and crane then lifted the sea lion onto a transport vehicle to be taken to the rescue centre.
Anyone who spots a marine mammal in distress should never approach the animal, but should instead immediately contact DFO at 1-800-465-4336 or the Marine Mammal Rescue Centre at 604-258-7325.
andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca
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