Man Runs Into a Group of Seals To Save One From Certain Death

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If you’re on this post reading, you likely have a passion for animals in general. And you’ve probably watched a wide array of videos of animals from the plains of Africa, to right here in the good old USA. At some point, you’ve probably seen videos or images of wildlife being harmed. 

Many photographers and videographers will share that they never intervene with wildlife. Because 1.) it can be very dangerous to get involved. And 2.) because they want to capture how animals truly live in the wild, no matter how that might be. However, that’s not what this team does in the video above. They are dedicated to helping rescue animals like these seals requiring little human help. 

Seal Rescued in Namibia 

The YouTube video clip shown at the beginning of this blog post takes us to Namibia in South Africa. The Ocean Conservation Namibia YouTube page filmed and shared this post on their channel. Almost two million people have viewed and liked this video. This conservation team shares various seals that are being rescued by this group.  

How to Safely Rescue a Seal

As the video above starts out, we see a massive group of seals gathered along this beach in South Africa. According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, “Harbor seals are usually solitary in water but haul out in groups of a few to thousands.” 

The first image we get is of a man running full speed straight towards this group of seals. Our first reaction was that this guy was crazy and was doing some type of idiotic dare. However, it is quickly evident that he is attempting to save a seal that has been caught in a green man-made fishing net.

The man quickly grabs the seal. He smartly wore gloves to avoid any bites he might receive. He grabs the seal by the head and holds it tightly so another member of the team can cut the rope off before setting this seal free.

Do Seals Get Caught in Fishing Nets?

Man-made contraptions such as fences, boats, fishing lines, cities, roadways, and more have been the demise of many wild animals. While getting caught in a fishing line may not seem like that big of a deal to us, to an animal that can’t get out of it, this can be the end of their way of life.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shares that “Northern fur seals can become entangled in commercial fishing debris, primarily trawl net webbing, plastic packing straps, and monofilament line.” 

With no way to get this fishing line off, the only hope this seal had for survival was that someone kind enough would get it off him. Of course, he didn’t understand what was happening which is why we see how intensely he was struggling. But, in the end, it was what saved his life.