It sometimes ends up being a saving grace when a small wild animal needs help. Such was the case in this story, when a needy little sea lion headed for Hugo Zusho’s boat not far from Laguna Beach in Orange County, California.
The people on the boat immediately started filming the event. The sea lion, named after amber, swam straight for the boat. Specifically, Amber swam up the ladder attached to the side of the boat into the water.
Amber makes at least two unsuccessful attempts to climb the ladder and then falls back into the water. Someone on the boat splashes water on the deck and bangs on the deck, apparently trying to make the poor pup feel welcome.
When it becomes clear that the child’s seal cannot successfully climb the ladder in an upright position, someone grabs the ladder and places it at an upward angle, making it look more like a ramp. They keep it at this best angle the whole time Amber struggles to get to the boat.
They brought the seal on board, although a bite from a wild animal can cause serious injury and even bacterial infection.
Then they headed straight to the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach with the exhausted animal. Young sea lions are called “puppies”. They usually weigh between 13 and 20 pounds. Most puppies are around 2.5 feet long at birth.
But they are getting bigger. For adults, females can weigh 200 to 400 pounds and males can weigh between 600 and 800 pounds. Adult females can reach 6.5 feet in length. Adult males can reach 8 feet in length.
Like many wild animals, sea lions face daily distress due to habitat degradation. Plastic pollution is a major cause of problems with marine life. If you care about marine life, you need to care about where the waste will end up and have a motto of “Reduce. Reuse. Recycle”.
