Rescued sea lion dies at SeaWorld

SeaWorld has announced that a young adult sea lion found hooked with a fisherman’s gaff at La Jolla Cove last weekend has died.

“It is with great sadness we report that the sea lion rescued by SeaWorld on Sunday at La Jolla Cove after being impaled by a gaff pole has passed away,” read a message from SeaWorld spokesman David Koontz. “While the animal looked in generally good body condition following his rescue, further medical assessment over past few days indicated that his health was severely compromised.”

Blood tests suggested the roughly 200-pound animal had a significant wound infection, and he was found to have five and half pounds of rocks -- 101 in all -- in his stomach, which Koontz said is very unusual.

“The preliminary necropsy report also revealed severe muscle necrosis at the site of the gaff pole wound which is believed to be a causal factor in his death,” the statement said. “SeaWorld would like to thank the San Diegans who contacted us after he was seen on the rocks in La Jolla. As with all the animals rescued by SeaWorld, it was our hope that we could have provided this sea lion a second chance at life.

The animal was found with the gaff protruding from its back on the shoreline rocks at La Jolla Cove late Sunday morning.

A rescue team from SeaWorld responded to calls for help and the horseshoe-size hook was removed within minutes of the team’s arrival.

The bamboo gaff was about 10 feet long.

Senior SeaWorld veterinarian Todd Schmitt was able to quickly extract the hook after the animal was secured and given a sedative, and officials said they expected he would recover.

Koontz said Sunday that the animal was eating and appeared in relatively good shape after he was taken to a SeaWorld animal care center that day. The expectation then was the sea lion would be at the center for one to two weeks.

Officials speculate that a fisherman used the gaff in an attempt to keep the sea lion away from his catch. Such an act is violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

“You’re not allowed to hurt or harass an animal and this was purposely done,” Koontz said Sunday “Our message is that wildlife live in our oceans and have the right to be in our ecosystem and we should not do anything to cause harm.”

The capture began with a loop net draped over the roughly 200-pound animal’s head. Additional nets were then placed over it to keep it from fleeing and a strong sedative was administered.

After the sedative kicked in, the team used a small circular saw to cut the gaff close to the hook and Schmitt and other teams members were able to extract the hook from the sea lion’s back.

They used the netting as a makeshift stretcher to carry the animal to a rescue truck and drive it to the SeaWorld’s animal care center. The response, securing of the animal, hook removal and transport to SeaWorld all took place between 11 a.m. and noon.

Koontz told U-T San Diego the death is disappointing for the SeaWorld team.

“We had hoped that we gotten to him in time,” he said.

SeaWorld has reported the incident to federal authorities.