Entangled Sea Lion Rescued In Dana Point [Video]

DANA POINT, CA — A new sea lion will heal at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center after being freed from entanglement Tuesday.

Full video of the rescue is below.

The sea lion had been entangled in twine for weeks, and was freed Tuesday by rescuers who found themselves in the "right place at the right time" to aid the animal.

Justin Viezbicke of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Pacific Marine Mammal Center said the sea lion was first spotted about five weeks ago, and several prior rescue attempts had failed.

Then, about 6:45 a.m. Tuesday, the sea lion was spotted dozing on a skiff in Dana Point Harbor, Viezbicke said.

"Fortunately, she was still asleep so I was able to sneak up" and cut her loose from the entanglement, Viezbicke said. "I got the knife under the line and got a good cut on it."

It's unclear where the twine came from, he said.

The sea lion usually swims away as someone tries to render aid, Viezbicke said. "This morning we were down there early enough, so there's some luck involved there. We were in the right place at the right time."

The sea lion's rescuers monitored her for about 20 minutes swimming in the harbor and concluded she would likely heal in time, Viezbicke said.

"We'll keep an eye on her to see how the healing goes," he said.

Read: West Coast Whales Are Getting Tangled In Crab Traps At Record Rate

Sea lions usually like to flop up on the docks, but with the entanglement, this one could only get as high as a skiff, Viezbicke said

Meanwhile, rescuers are still watching out for an entangled gray whale that appears to have some sort of metal frame, possibly a crab trap, around its head.

The latest sighting of the whale was Monday night off of Coal Point in Santa Barbara, Viezbicke said, and appears to be swimming with the gray whale migration up north.

The whale was spotted about 3:30 p.m. Saturday about two miles south of Dana Point Harbor.

With City News Service, Pacific Marine Mammal Center Photo

Left, California sea lion entangled. Right Ramiro Barbuzano PMMC rescue team with entanglement.