Sea Lion Saved from Knife in Face

A volunteer with the Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute (CIMWI) used a long pole and some careful maneuvering to remove a knife from the snout of a 400-pound sea lion this weekend.

The Santa Barbara rescue organization said in an Instagram post that the sea lion was first spotted at Hollywood Beach in Oxnard before it retreated to the water and swam over to a dock near the public boat ramp at Channel Islands Harbor.

Worried the big animal could charge if they got too close, a CIMWI volunteer used a pole affixed with a hook to snag the cord cutter slot on the knife’s handle. “Our volunteer pulled the hook straight and used slight upward pressure to avoid further cutting the sea lion as the blade came out of its face,” CIMWI said. 

Thankfully, the knife missed all vital structures, and the wound is expected to heal on its own, the organization said. It’s not known how the sea lion was stabbed, or by whom. Channel Islands Harbor Patrol could not be reached for comment.

“The sea lion jumped off the dock as soon as we removed the knife,” CIMWI said. “We observed the animal swimming around for about 10 minutes before he hopped up on a nearby dock finger. We continued to observe him at a distance and he was still sunning himself when we left.”