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A sea lion was recently found with a knife wedged in its snout near the Channel Islands Harbor public boat launch ramp.
The massive mammal, weighing about 400 pounds, was first spotted around 7:20 a.m. Sunday at Hollywood Beach but swam over to the boat launch ramp, the Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute posted on Facebook.
A CIMWI volunteer was able to safely remove the knife, which was embedded up to its handle, from the face of the adult California sea lion, the post read.
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A California sea lion was found with a knife in its snout on Sept. 3, 2023. (Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute) -
A California sea lion was found with a knife in its snout on Sept. 3, 2023. (Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute) -
A California sea lion was found with a knife in its snout on Sept. 3, 2023. (Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute) -
The knife pulled out of a California sea lion is seen in an image provided by the Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute.
The volunteer used a pole with a hook blade and managed to catch the belt cutter slot on the knife and pulled it out.
“Thankfully, the knife missed all vital structures of the sea lion’s face and the wound will heal on its own,” officials said.
The male sea lion then jumped off the dock and swam around until it hopped up on a nearby dock finger to sun himself.
“This sea lion now has a second chance at life,” officials said.
There was no word on how the knife ended up in the sea lion’s face, or if any suspects were being sought.
The Channel Islands are an eight-island archipelago located in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.
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