Rescuer reunited with blind sea lion after 7 years
- 7 years ago
A US man has been reunited with the blind sea lion he rescued six years ago.
In video captured on September 29 at Moody Gardens amusement park in Galveston, Texas, Jonathan Gonzalez is shown being reunited with the seal as the animal is being fed by a carer.
''When I was the volunteer Assistant Director at the Santa Barbara Marine Mammal Center (in California) we rescued over 1,000 seals, sea lions and dolphins,'' Jonathan later wrote online.
''One of them sticked out in my mind more than any other and that is Squirt, the sea lion that was born blind in both eyes.''
''I rescued her back in January 2010 and she only weighed 19lbs instead of 60lbs, the normal weight at that age," he says.
''It was clear she was not feeding on her own, so we knew we needed to find a zoo or aquarium that was willing to take her in since we could not release her back to the wild.''
''After seven years I was reunited with Squirt in September. It was an experience that I'll never forget,'' he continued.
In video captured on September 29 at Moody Gardens amusement park in Galveston, Texas, Jonathan Gonzalez is shown being reunited with the seal as the animal is being fed by a carer.
''When I was the volunteer Assistant Director at the Santa Barbara Marine Mammal Center (in California) we rescued over 1,000 seals, sea lions and dolphins,'' Jonathan later wrote online.
''One of them sticked out in my mind more than any other and that is Squirt, the sea lion that was born blind in both eyes.''
''I rescued her back in January 2010 and she only weighed 19lbs instead of 60lbs, the normal weight at that age," he says.
''It was clear she was not feeding on her own, so we knew we needed to find a zoo or aquarium that was willing to take her in since we could not release her back to the wild.''
''After seven years I was reunited with Squirt in September. It was an experience that I'll never forget,'' he continued.