The harbor seal was found shot in the head and died after months of intensive care, according to Des Moines Rescue Squad.
DES MOINES, WA – A harbor seal that was Shot in the head She died after months of intensive rehabilitation, according to rescuers.
The seal, named “Eggs Benedict,” or simply “Benny,” was discovered by Center Valley Animal Rescue in February on a dock near Quailsain Bay in Hood Canal. She was taken in by the Des Moines nonprofit Marine Life Response, Rehabilitation and Research (SR3).
SR3 scientists discover that Benny was shot in the head and malnourished. She had been receiving treatment for her wounds for months, but her behavior and appetite had fluctuated in recent weeks, rescuers said.
On May 22, veterinarian Dr. Christine Parker-Graham discovered an abscess under Benny’s molar, and the team began planning surgery to remove her tooth.
SR3 rescuers said Benny died soon after. An autopsy by Dr. Meg Baker revealed that while Benny’s head fracture was healing, the tissue surrounding the fracture was infected.
“The most significant findings included a severe sinus infection surrounding the affected bone,” Baker said. The pellets found in Benny’s head have been collected and will be sent to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s law enforcement division.
Marine Life said it had dealt with other marine animals with similar injuries, including a juvenile harbor seal that suffered projectiles in its skull and hind flippers.
“We also perform necropsies on sea lion carcasses that wash ashore each year and find that their deaths are often caused by bullets, pellets or other projectiles,” the nonprofit said. “This violence may be due to inaccurate information that these animals are eating all the salmon in the area. Seals and sea lions eat more than sixty species of marine life, but they are scapegoated for salmon declines, when the problem is more accurately related to complex causes such as habitat destruction, overfishing, toxins and warming rivers.”
The discovery of the gunshot wounds prompted an animal cruelty investigation by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
If you witness someone harassing or disturbing a marine mammal, please call the NOAA Fisheries Enforcement Hotline at 1-800-853-1964.
