Shammyrock: An Entangled Sea Lion Gets a Lucky Break

http://www.marinemammalcenter.org/about-us/News-Room/2014-news-archives/shammyrock.html#.Uzdzq_ldVCY

Shammyrock, a young sea lion that stranded just before St. Patrick’s Day, was entangled in so much fishing line that he couldn’t even move his head. Lucky for him, The Marine Mammal Center came to the rescue just in time.

March 26, 2014



Shammyrock, a sea lion pup, was entangled in fishing line when he was rescued.



Shammyrock’s “before” picture is gruesome. The green monofilament fishing line wrapped around this juvenile sea lion’s head and neck is cutting into his skin, causing a bloody, open wound. Every movement of his head caused the line to cut in even deeper. He is thinner than he should be—malnourished because he hadn’t been able to catch fish since he became entangled.

What the photo doesn’t show is that Shammyrock was trembling with pain when he was picked up, says Geno DeRango, The Marine Mammal Center’s stranding coordinator. In order to rescue the suffering animal, Geno and his team of trained volunteers had to scramble over slippery rocks at Breakwater Cove in Monterey, California.

Once Shammyrock was safely transported to the Center’s triage facility in Moss Landing, Geno cut the line around Shammyrock’s neck, freeing his head. Shammyrock was given fluids, pain medication and a tube feeding.

FULL story at link.

Fund raiser info below.

Imagine being trapped in a fishing net, unable to free yourself. The more you struggle, the more the fishing line cuts into your skin, creating open wounds. You’re starving because you can’t feed yourself, and the skinnier you get, the colder you are. You’re trembling in pain and getting weaker every day.

That’s exactly what happened to Shammyrock, a young California sea lion that had an unlucky, yet all too common, run-in with a potentially deadly fishing net. Luckily for him, The Marine Mammal Center came to the rescue just in time.

We were able to remove Shammyrock’s entanglement right away, but he still needs your help to get a second chance at life.

YES, I Want to Give a Gift of Fish!

Because he was unable to move freely or feed himself for so long, Shammyrock arrived at our hospital shivering, weak and starving. As he recovers from his wounds, he also needs to eat a lot of fish to get strong and healthy enough to return to his ocean home. I know you care about marine mammals, so I am asking you to help feed this starving sea lion.

And as you can guess, Shammyrock isn’t the only hungry mouth we have to feed. Every pen and pool at our hospital is in use as our busy season continues. We have more than 100 animals on-site right now, and that means they are eating a lot of fish.

We did the math, and I can tell you that the fish our patients need to get healthy costs about a dollar a pound. And some of our animals are eating close to 100 pounds of fish every week! Please help give our patients the food and medicine they need.

With your kind support, together we can help animals like Shammyrock return to the ocean healthy and strong.

Jeff Boehm's picture
Sincerely,

Jeff Boehm signature

Jeff Boehm
Executive Director
The Marine Mammal Center

P.S. Thanks to someone like you who called our Rescue Line, Shammyrock was rescued, but there are many other sick and injured seals and sea lions in need of a helping hand. Together, we can give them a second chance at life. Your gift today will help ensure we can provide the care they need right now.