care specialist and rescue team member, point-
ing out an orange tag on the animal’s flipper
that was attached before its previous return to
the wild. “But he has got himself into a differ-
ent kind of trouble this time.”
The situation is not easy: The sea lion
doesn’t want to leave the rescue truck. It
takes two animal care specialists—both of
them wearing thick overalls and elbow-
length welder’s gloves—to move the animal
from the flatbed into the critical care unit.
Using a large metal floor scale, the sea lion’s
weight is determined. In order to rehydrate
the creature, assistants insert an IV line into
the back of his neck. But that’s no easy task
either—not with a feisty sea lion trying to
bite his helpers’ hands and the drip line.
“Obviously, these animals don’t under-
stand we’re trying to help them,” says Jody
Westberg, SeaWorld’s stranded animal
coordinator. “Veins are hard to find on a sea
lion, especially when they are moving around
like this. But up in the neck area, there’s a lot
of loose skin and room for the liquid to be
absorbed as the animal needs it.”
undertake impressive journeys to recovery—
with the help of dedicated SeaWorld staff.
CREATURE CLINIC
SeaWorld’s Animal Rescue Center features
state-of-the-art equipment to ensure the
best possible care for distressed wildlife.
This includes a medical lab outfitted with
the latest diagnostic tools, medications
and intravenous fluids, as well as a surgical
suite with X-ray, ultrasound and anesthesia
machines. The center also boasts a food
preparation room where meals are created
according to special diets for animals on
the mend. Outside, recovery pools and
enclosures are customized for each critter’s
special needs.
There are several reasons why an animal
may be brought to the center in the first
place. Two of the most common afflictions
are malnutrition and dehydration, often due
to some underlying cause like illness, injury
or separation from the animal’s mother.
Other rescued animals are also entangled in
nets, ropes or fishing line, may have acciden-
tally eaten plastic or other foreign objects
(the team removed 80 fishing hooks from
the stomach of one sea lion) or have been
impacted by environmental disasters like oil
spills. Others have been injured by contact
with boats and, in rare cases, some have been
shot. Length of stay at the facility varies
greatly, depending on species: Seals and sea
lions are at the center for an average of six to
eight weeks while turtle rehabilitation can
take a year or longer.
On this particular day, the animal being
rushed into the “ER” is a juvenile California
sea lion discovered at La Jolla Cove with a
fishing hook stuck in his flipper. “This is actu-
ally a re-strand, one we rescued earlier in the
year,” says Kevin Robinson, a senior animal
REMARKABLE RESCUES
On any given day, the rescue team never
knows what sort of animal it may be called
upon to save or what the particular circum-
stances might be. And, over the years, sev-
eral rescues have captured the imagination
of both the press and public.
The park’s most celebrated animal reha-
bilitation was J.J. the gray whale, first and
foremost because a baleen whale of that size
had never been restored to health in cap-
tivity and, secondly, because it was such an
outstanding success.
No more than a week old, J.J. was dis-
covered floundering at the harbor entrance
of Marina del Rey near Los Angeles in
January 1997. Dehydrated, hypoglycemic,
comatose, malnourished and underweight
(1,500 pounds), she was transported more
than 100 miles down the coast to SeaWorld,
where the rescue and rehab team started
around-the-clock care for the infant whale.
Nearly 15 months later—and 20,000
pounds heavier—J.J. was restored to health
and returned to the Pacific Ocean.
By observing J.J. during her recovery,
SeaWorld researchers were able to learn
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