The veterinarian in charge of rescuing a lethargic California sea lion off the beach at Davis Bay, Wednesday, says things aren’t looking great for the marine mammal.
Dr. Martin Haulena, executive director of the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Society, told Coast Reporter his initial assessment showed the sea lion had significant perineal edema, which is swelling around the perineal tissue that surrounds the scrotum and anus at the animal’s hind end.
“Unfortunately, that is often a sign that's associated with a very particular type of cancer that is relatively common in adult California sea lions, and can also indicate some other spinal trauma,” said Haulena. “The animal was not in good shape so it was quite worrisome.”
He added the best option for the sea lion was to transport it back to the rescue centre, so it was sedated on the beach in preparation for transport. Coast resident Dave Steers witnessed the rescue and along with a few other spectators, assisted the rescue team with moving the heavy sea lion into a transport carrier and into the van for transport.
“He's been there overnight and he's still with us this morning,” said Haulena.
He added the rescue society was notified of the lethargic sea lion by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, which had received a call from someone who had come across the mammal on the beach. Haulena described the sea lion as having poor body condition, as poorly responsive and quite lethargic, lying on the beach not far from the Sunshine Coast Highway. He added, the sea lion is severely under weight.
Haulena noted it’s very normal to find adult male California sea lions in the waters off the West Coast of Canada. He explained adult males typically leave the females and their young in rookeries off the coast of California or Mexico so they aren’t competing for resources. The adult males then travel as far as Alaska in search of food.
He suggests anyone who finds an injured marine mammal to call the rescue centre or Fisheries and Oceans to report it.
“One hundred per cent of the time, people see something out of the water and they think, for whatever reason, the first thing to do is to push it back into the water, which is often the worst thing to do,” said Haulena. “So, give them space and call us. We'll walk you through it. You know, a lot of times animals are out of the water doing completely normal things.”
As for the rescued sea lion, Haulena and the team are doing more tests and x-rays this morning and depending on the results, might be forced to euthanize the mammal.
“Unfortunately, the best decision might be a humane solution, but we'll take it one step at a time and make sure we get proper information,” said Haulena, who will update Coast Reporter later this afternoon.
