Pinger

California sea lion Pinger was entangled in ocean trash for years. You see, he was first spotted in San Francisco in 2021 with something wrapped around his neck, and the wounds appeared to be getting more severe each time he was sighted. 

Intervention was critical to save his life, which is why we launched a special rescue operation where our trained responders set out on a boat with specialized equipment the Center developed for high-risk rescues like this. From the boat, our experts safely launched a dart that sedates and tracks the animal should it escape into the water. A series of acoustic “pings” from the dart allow responders to keep track of the sea lion until it can be safely netted from the water (you can see how Pinger got his name!).

Our innovative rescue technique was a success, and Pinger was transported to our hospital for care. Veterinary experts freed him from the entanglement, and in a matter of days he was released back to the wild.