Los Islotes, Sea of Cortez
There are good days, and there are bad days. For a California sea lion, a bad day might be an encounter with a hungry shark, a pursuing killer whale…or a fisherman’s net. This sea lion (pictured above on the left) had an encounter of the latter type one day in its youth. Young California sea lions are curious animals and they investigate their environment with their nose and mouth. Such behavior led to this animal wearing a necklace of netting that refused to come off. As the animal grew in size the netting cut into its flesh, cutting deepest on the sides where the body bulged outwards. Then came a good day in the sea lion’s life. Scientists and caring people working to free sea lions from entanglement with marine debris were able to successfully remove the netting.
Today we saw several animals that bore scars…but no netting. That is a wonderful change from past years when a combination of youthful sea lion curiosity and marine debris led to a protracted and painful death, sometimes right before our eyes. As I write this, I can recall the many times I told guests impacted by such sorrowful sights that once at this stage of entanglement, there is nothing that can be done for the individual animal. The best we can do is prevent marine debris such as netting from entering the environment. How wonderfully wrong I have been proven! The sea lion disentanglement project at Los Islotes targets removal of netting from pups and adults, as well as educating local fishermen and families about their dependence on the health of Marine Reserves. This and other conservation/education projects receive funding through the Gulf of California Conservation Fund. Guests on board the Sea Lion this week donated over four thousand dollars to the G.C.C.F. by participating in Lindblad’s Baja Forever Campaign. Furthermore, their donations will be matched dollar for dollar by the Mexican Conservation Fund, as well as contributions of a similar amount by the World Wildlife Fund to projects aligned with Baja Forever.
Caring people getting involved at different levels can only lead to more good days for those that call the Sea of Cortez home. Thank you everyone.
There are good days, and there are bad days. For a California sea lion, a bad day might be an encounter with a hungry shark, a pursuing killer whale…or a fisherman’s net. This sea lion (pictured above on the left) had an encounter of the latter type one day in its youth. Young California sea lions are curious animals and they investigate their environment with their nose and mouth. Such behavior led to this animal wearing a necklace of netting that refused to come off. As the animal grew in size the netting cut into its flesh, cutting deepest on the sides where the body bulged outwards. Then came a good day in the sea lion’s life. Scientists and caring people working to free sea lions from entanglement with marine debris were able to successfully remove the netting.
Today we saw several animals that bore scars…but no netting. That is a wonderful change from past years when a combination of youthful sea lion curiosity and marine debris led to a protracted and painful death, sometimes right before our eyes. As I write this, I can recall the many times I told guests impacted by such sorrowful sights that once at this stage of entanglement, there is nothing that can be done for the individual animal. The best we can do is prevent marine debris such as netting from entering the environment. How wonderfully wrong I have been proven! The sea lion disentanglement project at Los Islotes targets removal of netting from pups and adults, as well as educating local fishermen and families about their dependence on the health of Marine Reserves. This and other conservation/education projects receive funding through the Gulf of California Conservation Fund. Guests on board the Sea Lion this week donated over four thousand dollars to the G.C.C.F. by participating in Lindblad’s Baja Forever Campaign. Furthermore, their donations will be matched dollar for dollar by the Mexican Conservation Fund, as well as contributions of a similar amount by the World Wildlife Fund to projects aligned with Baja Forever.
Caring people getting involved at different levels can only lead to more good days for those that call the Sea of Cortez home. Thank you everyone.
