FIRST RESPONDERS LAY GROUNDWORK TO RESCUE SEA LION FROM CERTAIN DEATH
At 3:54p on Tuesday, Seal Sitters MMSN hotline (206-905-7325) received a call from Global Diving and Salvage employee John Duerr, who reported a California sea lion impaled on a bolt attached to a barrel in Elliott Bay.The barrel supported a floating security fence at Vigor Shipyard, located on the north end of Harbor Island. Seal Sitters Co-Investigator Lynn asked if he could confirm the animal was alive and he said, yes, the animal was lifting its head out of the water to breathe. It was not known how many days the animal had been hooked and unable to free himself. Lynn hung up and called Co-Investigator Robin, who offered to contact Vigor’s security office to get access for responders.

Due to the size of the animal and precarious water-only access, we knew it would require a highly experienced response team. Lynn contacted Casey Mclean of SR3 for help while Robin notified WDFW Marine Mammal Investigation Unit’s Dyanna Lambourn. The reporting party was still on-site in his boat and texted photos, which were shared with Casey, Dyanna and WDFW's Steve Jeffries. Since it was already dusk, Casey and Dyanna made plans to respond the following morning if the sea lion was still there.

Over the course of the evening, Robin laid the groundwork with many calls to Vigor Security, getting permission to access the animal early Wednesday morning. Casey and Dyanna coordinated plans for the response, recruiting additional experts and volunteers.

RESCUE PROVES CHALLENGING, BUT ENDS WITH HIGH FIVES
At 7:30 Wednesday morning, Vigor Security sent word that the sea lion was still caught on the fence. The rescue team began to assemble at West Seattle’s public boat launch: SR3 Director Casey Mclean; SR3 volunteer Caldwell, who provided the use of his boat; SR3 volunteer and veterinarian Elena, NOAA Marine Mammal Laboratory biologist Jeff Harris; veterinarian Dr Cathy King of World Vets; marine mammal biologist Dyanna Lambourn of WDFW MMI. Dyanna brought a second boat.

The boats took off at 10:20 and the team was soon at the Harbor Island site in Elliott Bay (photo above). Due to limited space in the vessels, Robin and Lynn observed from the viewing platform at Jack Block Park.



The sea lion had likely hauled out on one of the flotation barrels supporting the fence and gotten pierced through the genital area by an exposed bolt. When the examiners approached, the animal became agitated. Dr Cathy King administered a sedative formulated for sea lions and the team backed off while the sedative took effect.

Then, Dr. Cathy and Jeff were able, with considerable effort, to hoist the hind flippers and free the impaled tissue from the bolt. The adult male sea lion was marked with green biodegradable paint for identification purposes. A reversal drug revived him in a few minutes. After swimming around, he went back to the fence, forced another huge sea lion off its barrel, and took his place. The team returned to Don Armeni at 11:30.

Based on exam prior to release of the sea lion, it appears that the exposed tissue in the wound was beginning to heal, indicating that he could have been there a number of days. Thankfully, Global was doing a check of the security fencing, noticed him among the numerous sea lions hauled out on the barrels and called Seal Sitters’ hotline.

Huge kudos to the rescuers, many of whom used their time off work for the opportunity to extricate the sea lion. All were part of NOAA’s Marine Mammal Stranding Network and supporting organizations. And we are so grateful to the Global Diving employees and the Vigor Shipyard security supervisors and crew for their help. It was truly a team effort to save this beautiful marine mammal from certain starvation and send him back to his watery home for the holidays.

Tags: sea lion, California sea lion, rescue, entanglement