Sea Lion Entanglement Skyrocketing

Flashback to 2012. The number of animals rescued by the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, California was only 11.

Now bring that number up to 15 and you have the total number of animals treated for waste entanglement last year. This year, 16 of our ocean’s poor marine animals have been entangled in human waste.

And the worst part? We’re only in August!

So how does this happen? Marine creatures (sea lions, for example) notice waste in the water and become curious about it, most likely wondering if it’s food or something else viable for them to use.

Like humans, marine animals like to explore and discover new things. Unfortunately, humans are the real culprit in this situation. We create the waste and by not disposing of it properly, we effectively trick our marine life into thinking human waste is a part of their environment.

The Sausalito center has numerous stories of marine life trapped in and even injured by human waste.

A couple weeks ago, an innocent sea lion was rescued with a crab trap attached to its snout. Luckily for this wonderful creature, it was picked up by this center. The sea lion had to go through surgery and some rehabilitation but eventually made a full recovery.

The world would be a very scary place if centers such as the Marine Mammal Center did not exist.

That being said, we cannot just sit back and wait for our marine life to become victims of the waste we leave behind. We all need to do our part to stop polluting the ocean.

Source: http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/local/reports-entangled-seals-and-sea-lions-rise/ngn2s/