SeaWorld San Diego Rescues Wounded Harbor Seal

LA JOLLA, CA – A harbor seal with the most severe neck wound that Sea World's rescue team had ever seen was recently returned to the ocean after being rehabilitated at the San Diego theme park.

The female seal was rescued June 29 from the La Jolla Children's Pool. A gill net had embedded so deep into the animal's neck it was only centimeters away from her vertebrae, according to Eric Otjen, SeaWorld's assistant curator of mammals.

"We checked out her wound and it was really deep," he said. "The net was cutting into her neck to the point we couldn't see the line anymore."

The seal was taken to SeaWorld, where the marine mammal was examined and the net was removed. Her rehabilitation included antibiotics, cold laser therapy and medicinal honey treatments.

"Her rehabilitation went very smoothly," said Dr. Tres Clarke. "She was in the water the second day and even eating live fish."

The seal was returned to the ocean July 9, along with two other rescued and rehabilitated seals.

Though the wound wasn't fully healed, experts believed it was in the animal's best interest to return to the ocean. They didn't want her to become too accustomed to humans, plus she had already demonstrated hunting ability, Otjen said.

"As soon as she got into the water, she started exploring her surroundings right away," he said, adding that saltwater will also help the wound further heal.

Nearly 70 percent of the animals rescued by the park are returned to the wild, according to SeaWorld.

Images via SeaWorld