Salon: Seals, the Chunky Einsteins of the Ocean, Are Dying Painfully Due to Plastic Pollution
- Entanglement
- Ocean trash
Intelligent, strong and top predators, seals are suffering from human acts and wastefulness
Published in Salon on July 2, 2022
They called the sea lion Blonde Bomber.
As Adam Ratner shared the plucky marine mammal's story with Salon, his voice welled up with affection. Blonde Bomber's story is just one among many in which a pinniped has nearly lost its life to plastic pollution, but it was clear that Blonde Bomber struck a special chord.
"Pier 39 is a place in basically downtown San Francisco that is kind of a mass tourist attraction," Ratner, the associate director of conservation education at The Marine Mammal Center, told Salon. Sea lions will often pop up to the delight of tourists – but in Blonde Bomber's case, they also noticed that he had some kind of plastic strap stuck around his neck. He needed help, and people reached out to The Marine Mammal Center because they cared.
Header image: photo © NOAA / NOAA permit #16632
Yes, I want to save a life!
Yes, I want to save a life!
You’ll be giving sick and injured animals the best possible care at the Center’s state-of-the-art hospital. With your gift today, you are giving a patient a second chance at life in the wild.
See Our Latest News
{"image":"\/Animals\/Wild\/California sea lion\/cropped-images\/csl-release-4-5-24photo-by-chris-deimler-c-the-marine-mammal-center-138-0-1270-992-1745348188.jpg","alt":"Four young California sea lions walk on the beach toward the ocean.","title":"Achievements in Ocean Health","link_url":"https:\/\/www.marinemammalcenter.org\/news\/achievements-in-ocean-health","label":"News Update","date":"2025-04-23 10:20:00"}
{"image":"\/Misc\/Graphics\/cropped-images\/climate-change-graphic-giant-earth-shutterstock-1798-6-5113-3994-1680046432.jpg","alt":"An Earth Day graphic of people holding the planet, recycling, planting a tree and moving a solar panel.","title":"5 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day","link_url":"https:\/\/www.marinemammalcenter.org\/news\/5-ways-to-celebrate-earth-day","label":"News Update","date":"2025-04-18 11:21:08"}
{"image":"\/Animals\/Wild\/Sea otter\/cropped-images\/sea-otter-mom-pup-photo-c-brian-simuro-505-0-3387-2646-1618247266.jpg","alt":"sea otter mother and pup","title":"Meaningful Mother\u2019s Day Gifts for Ocean Lovers","link_url":"https:\/\/www.marinemammalcenter.org\/news\/eco-friendly-mothers-day-gifts-that-give-back","label":"News Update","date":"2025-04-10 02:00:00"}
{"image":"\/Animals\/Wild\/Harbor seal\/cropped-images\/harbor-seals-shutterstock-107-0-1270-992-1744225508.jpg","alt":"A group of harbor seal pups and mothers on the beach during pupping season.","title":"Your Guide to Seeing Harbor Seal Pups in California","link_url":"https:\/\/www.marinemammalcenter.org\/news\/your-guide-to-seeing-harbor-seal-pups-in-california","label":"News Update","date":"2025-04-10 00:00:00"}
ocean trash
Adam Ratner
California Sea Lion