A seal pup who got dangerously tangled in a fishing net in the United Kingdom was helped and sent back to the sea by rescuers with the charity British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR).
Rescuers discovered the young pup entangled and unable to free herself on the Hebrides island off the coast of Scotland.
They named her Charlie.
“If not for the swift action of our medics, Charlie might have suffered horrible injury or even death by drowning when the tide came back in,” a BDMLR spokesperson told The Mirror.
Charlie (Courtesy of British Divers Marine Life Rescue)
After cutting Charlie Free, medics assessed her health status and deemed her safe for release. Charlie didn’t stick around — instead booking it back to the sea.
“The pup is OK,” BDMLR told Lady Freethinker. “She was released and went back into the sea.”
Happily, Charlie will get to live the next chapter of her life because of these compassionate medics. But many other marine mammals face significant threats from discarded fishing gear and climate change.
BDMLR trains more than 1,000 volunteer marine mammal medics every year. Most of the calls they receive involve stranded and entangled cetaceans, an order that includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises, according to their website.
We thank these caring medics for their vigilant protection of distressed sea animals! Thankfully, we can all help marine animals by becoming more aware of how our choices impact ocean ecosystems and choosing compassionate alternatives if needed.
For more than 20 easy ways you can help ocean life, check out our guide here.
