Families visiting San Francisco's Pier 39 love to see the sea lions who have taken over the old fishing docks. They have a front row seat as the Marine Mammal Center continues its efforts to rescue two California sea lions entangled in fishing line that is wrapped around their necks. The sea lions were spotted by people at Pier 39 in early July. One sea lion is about 2-3 years of age and weighs approximately 150 lbs and the other is a larger subadult, about 4 years of age, and is estimated to weigh around 200 lbs. The two have been resting periodically on the famous floating docks - a haven for hordes of sea lions - and also a challenging moving obstacle for rescuers.
Despite multiple rescue attempts to try to capture these sea lions, each attempt has resulted in the pinnipeds diving off the bobbing docks and swimming away. Rescuers approach these kinds of rescues carefully because of the danger of further stressing the sea lions, and as a result, making the entanglement tighter. Chasing these animals provides additional stress on them and the Center, along with the National Marine Fisheries Service, advise against such measures by the public.
The sea lions have not been seen since last week, when the last rescue was attempted by the Center. For now, rescuers will wait and see if new reports come in of the sea lions hauling out somewhere, preferably on land where a more successful rescue effort can be made. Go to their website for an update and pictures of the injured sea lions.
Earlier this year, the Center rescued another entangled sea lion named Orseycorn and was able to remove the ocean trash entanglement, provide him with medical care, and release him back to the ocean. Lately they have also been trying to rescue a gray whale and her calf who are trapped up along the Klamath River delta.
The Marine Mammal Center had a contest to name its 10,000th marine mammal rescue, and it happened on July 25, 2011 -- they are proud to introduce "Milestone" to the public, and return him to the ocean today. Go to their website for details on their programs, how to visit, or report the seals' return.
Located just outside San Francisco at an old Nike Missile site, the Marine Mammal Center is one of only 7 marine rescue centers in the USA. Since it began in 1976, over 16,000 rescues have been performed including sea birds, marine mammals, and even whales.
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