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Struggling seal pup receiving treatment after rescue off Vancouver Island

A severely underweight, dehydrated northern fur seal pup is being treated at a rescue centre in Vancouver after being saved from the waters off the northeast coast of Vancouver Island.

Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Centre explained in a release that the seven-month-old pup was unable to dive and was floating sideways when it was spotted on Monday by employees of a salmon farm.

The seal was airlifted to Vancouver where rescue centre workers stated it was small for its age and needed intensive observation.

<who> Photo Credit: Canadian Press

Centre assistant manager Emily Johnson added the pup, who is now named "Mo," was weaned but was failing to thrive.

Mo is currently receiving antibiotics along with other treatment and will be given a physical exam when her condition is more stable.

Northern fur seals are listed as threatened by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada but are not on the Species at Risk Act.

The seals are found from Japan to California and are known to forage between January and June in water 20 to 150 km off B.C.

Staff at the centre successfully rehabilitated a male fur seal in 2017 and are optimistic they can do it again.

“She’s feisty, which is a hopeful sign,” said Johnson in the release.

With files from the Canadian Press.



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