Rehabilitation and movement of a blind California sea lion from the southern Gulf of California to the western Baja California Peninsula, Mexico

Published source details Elorriaga-Verplancken F.R., Meneses P., Cardena-Llerenas A., Phillips W., de la Torre A., Reyes A., Yin Hernandez X., Rosales-Nanduca H., Gonzalez-Lopez I., Robles-Hernandez R., Jose Amador-Capitanachi M. & Sandoval-Sierra J. (2018) Rehabilitation and movement of a blind California sea lion from the southern Gulf of California to the western Baja California Peninsula, Mexico. Aquatic Mammals, 44, 293-298.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Rehabilitate and release injured, sick or weak marine and freshwater mammals Action Link

Rehabilitate and release injured, sick or weak marine and freshwater mammals

A study in 2017 at a coastal site in the southern Gulf of California, Mexico (Elorriaga-Verplancken et al. 2018) found that a rehabilitated blind California sea lion Zalophus californianus that was released back into the wild survived for at least 53 days after release. The male sea lion was observed 53 days after release at a beach located 1,500 km from the release site on a known migration route for the species. In February 2017, the blind sea lion (aged 5–6 years) was found stranded in poor condition and was transported to an aquarium for medical care. The sea lion was fed >11 kg of fish/day and increased in body mass by 74 kg during 106 days of rehabilitation. In May 2017, the sea lion was tagged and released at a known California sea lion colony in the southern Gulf of California. The sea lion was observed on an island in the North Pacific Ocean off the coast of Mexico in July 2017 during a field expedition.

(Summarised by: Anna Berthinussen)