A distressed adult male Steller sea lion that was rescued off a Ucluelet beach and transported to the Vancouver Aquarium鈥檚 Marine Mammal Rescue Centre on Thursday night is believed to have suffered at least one gunshot to the head.
鈥淚t does look like there鈥檚 some pretty serious metal density in his skull, so I have to assume they鈥檙e some kind of bullet or pellet, fairly large gauge,鈥� the centre鈥檚 head veterinarian Dr. Martin Haulena told the Westerly News on Friday. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know whether it鈥檚 one really large bullet that fragmented into two major pieces, but it certainly looks pretty serious.鈥�
He said the centre鈥檚 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鈥檚 chances of survival do not look promising.
鈥淗e鈥檚 very lethargic, very weak, he鈥檚 been allowing people to come up to him so I have to assume that there鈥檚 some pretty serious degree of head trauma,鈥� he said. 鈥淯nfortunately, with a big sea lion like that, if he鈥檚 letting people approach, it鈥檚 usually something pretty serious.鈥�
He added the sea lion may have been blinded.
鈥淩ight now, he鈥檚 got one eye tightly shut, the other eye鈥檚 pupil is dilated and doesn鈥檛 appear to be visual at all. He might be a blind sea lion, which is obviously a problem for release,鈥� he said. 鈥淲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鈥檝e hurt, what they鈥檝e damaged and evaluate his quality of life as well as whether he can be releasable or not鈥鈥檓 a bit worried about him for sure.鈥�
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鈥檚 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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