Cute Sea Lion Pup Released In Wild After Undergoing Treatment
This is the moment the Argentine authorities release a sea lion pup into the wild after it was found alone in a poor state of health and required treatment to make it fit enough for release.
The sea lion was found in poor condition by people who raised the alarm after spotting it on the shores of San Blas Bay in poor health.
In a statement by the Argentine government on their official website, they said that the Provincial Agency for Sustainable Development (OPDS) and the Mundo Marino Foundation had worked together to save the animal.
It was then put under the supervision of veterinarian Mario Hernan Spicoli, in the town of Bahia San Blas in the eastern Argentine province of Buenos Aires.
He worked together with experts from the OPDS to supervise the pups recovery including veterinarian Juan Pablo Loureiro, head of the Mundo Marino Foundation.
After treatment and routine examinations were carried out at the foundation centre, it was decided that the pup was suitably recovered and able to feed by itself if released back into the wild.
As a result, carers also decided the pup was able to be reintegrated into the nearest sea lion colony at the Reserva Natural de Usos Múltiples (Natural Reserve of Multiple Uses) at Anegada Bay, on the southeast margin of the island “De los Riachos”.
It was taken there and released as it was also close to where it had been found and also has a plentiful supply of fish.
Argentine Naval Prefecture officials also helped to return the sea lion to its natural habitat within the Anegada Bay Reserve close to Isla de los Riachos.
The footage shows officials arriving at the beach in a dinghy before removing the sea lion in a crate and taking it ashore.
They then open a hatch and the cute pup waddles onto the sand and explores its new environment.
The sea lion apparently follows one of its helpers, who has to back away and show disinterest, before looking around the landscape and waddling straight ahead as the clip comes to an end.
The South American sea line can grow up to 3 m in length and weigh 350 kg from feasting on a diet that mainly consists of fish. Also known as the Patagonian sea lion, and breeding colonies exist throughout the continent including Argentina, Peru, Brazil and the Falkland Islands.
