03-20-2010
We are grateful to the Hatfield Marine Sciences for putting together a professional team to release a female sea lion tangled in a net. She entered the cave on St. Patrick's Day dragging the netting with her onto the rocks. In her struggles to release herself, she only managed to tether herself to the rocks in front of the viewing area of the cave, upsetting all who witnessed horrific event. To the rescue came the Hatfield/OSU team lead by Jim Rice. They devised and implemented their plan to sedate the animal and cut the bindings from her neck and face. Without these heroic efforts, the young sea lion would have starved slowly over the next days. Our gratitude goes out to all those who participated in this event. We have now seen that with the right people and planning, this sort of rescue can be performed humanely and successfully! Below are some attachments from various media:
And, unsurprisingly, it is also a place that many of natures creatures call “home”...
The caves are a wild place, and the animals that live there are “nothing short of wild” too...