Seals, also known as the clowns of the marine animal world, are a funny group of highly fascinating creatures. They primarily lounge around and sunbathe in some of the most amazing locations on Earth, including Antarctica, the Galapagos Islands, and Peru’s Ballestas Islands.
They are mostly covered in blubber, which protects them from the cold, and they eat a variety of delectable fish. These precious animals are finding themselves in dangerous situations thanks to those who litter near the beach.
Ocean Conservation Namibia is “a private initiative started by Naude and Katja Dreyer in Walvis Bay, Namibia, to rescue seals from plastic rubbish.” There are countless videos of teams from this organization saving seals from the dangers of plastic left in or around the seashore.
An estimated 1.5 million Cape fur seals live all along Namibia’s coastline, making them an extremely valuable species. These seals are subjected to maritime debris and illegally abandoned fishing gear, which can entangle, torment, and kill them.
Ocean Conservation Namibia was founded in 2020 by Naude and Katja Dreyer with the main goal of assisting tangled seals and other marine wildlife around the Namibian coast. This initiative seeks to inspire people all around the world to alter their behavior in the direction of a sustainable future through observation, direct action, awareness, and education.
Saving Innocent Lives
Naude and his group freed more than 1,200 seals from entanglement in 2020 and 2021. A Youtube short of the team running after a massive colony of seals as they head towards the water. Without knowing the context of the video, you might be wondering why this man is chasing down a single seal.
After the person in the video gets a hold of one of the animals, the camera gets close up to the creature. We see that it has what appears to be a piece of string or fishing lure wrapped all the way around its neck. The material is cutting into the seal’s throat and would eventually kill him had this selfless team not stopped to help.
With a steady hand and a bit of precision, they are able to remove the plastic from the seal. At one point, the terrified animal nearly takes a chunk out of the man’s hand. When wild animals are scared, they’ll do what they can to defend themselves. Thankfully, this particular critter wasn’t able to hurt the humans.
Once the string is off, the team steps back and the seal quickly (and adorably) chase after the rest of its herd. He’s not far behind and catches up to swim off into the crisp water of the roaring ocean. Thanks to the keen eyesight and quick effort of Ocean Conservation Namibia, this seal lives to see another day!
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