Featured Image Credit: Oregon Coast Aquarium
By Sarah Sharkey
On the Oregon Coast, a fur seal pup was found with a plastic balloon string wrapped around its neck in an RV park. The string was thick enough and tight enough to cut through both the seal’s fur and skin, which left an open wound around its neck.
Video not working? Watch it here!
Jim Rice, stranding coordinator at Oregon State University’s Marine Mammal Institute transported the animal to the Oregon Coast Aquarium for help. He had this to say about the pup’s condition, “Aquarium staff admitted the pup for care, immediately removed the entanglement, and administered wound treatment,” aquarium staff said in a report. “Aquarium staff will continue to provide antibiotics, fluids, and radiant heat for the northern fur seal pup until its planned release tomorrow. Staff will also tag the animal for future identification purposes in case it was ever to strand again.”
The staff at the museum was able to remove the string, which likely came from a balloon, and is hopeful that the pup will make a swift recovery. The aquarium released the pup back into the wild as soon as possible to keep its long-term survival chances high.
It is important to note that balloon string can cause a serious entanglement problem for marine mammals, but people don’t tend to remember that when they casually allow their balloons to fly away.
Learn more from our source.