What normally would have been an endearing sight at the beach turned out to be a sad discovery for animal rescuers Tuesday.

A sea lion pup was jumping in and out of the waves along the San Diego County shoreline, but something was wrapped around its neck.

Beachgoers and lifeguards at Swami’s State Beach in Encinitas reported seeing a black diver’s mask encircling the animal’s malnourished upper body. The plastic face shield was missing, and the sea lion’s head had gone through the opening.

SeaWorld was alerted, and by the time rescuers arrived, the young marine mammal had settled on the edge of a rock near the shore, with the mask fixed firmly around its throat.


The year-old pup was emaciated, weighing only 32 pounds — about half its normal size, said Jody Westberg, head of the park’s San Diego rescue team. The mask was restricting the animal’s ability to forage and eat at a time when it likely had been recently weaned from its mother, she said.

A young sea lion had to have a plastic diver’s mask cut off its neck. (Mike Aguilera / SeaWorld San Diego)

As the sea lion lay on the rock, rescuers slowly approached, captured him with a net and cut through the mask.

“He was very quiet,” Westberg said. “He should be active, and he should be vocalizing.”


Underneath the mask, a bad wound that appeared to be infected had formed, so the pinniped was taken to SeaWorld’s Animal Health and Rescue Center. Since the sea lion was brought in, the wound has been treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics and raw honey, and the pup has been given plenty of food and water, Westberg said.

“He’s pretty tired,” she said. “He’s laying around with other animals of his same age, [which will] help him relax.”

In the next few days, the animal will be reexamined and released back into the wild, Westberg said, adding that had rescuers not arrived, “that would have been a death sentence.”

SeaWorld said it has rescued 481 sick or stranded animals so far this year. Some have become ill because of a lack of food or changing climate and others because of human waste, as was the case with this pup. Westberg encouraged beachgoers to not discard personal items — including swim masks, flip-flops or plastic bags — in the water or along the beach.


alejandra.reyesvelarde@latimes.com

Twitter: @r_valejandra