There are plenty of animals that are moving through life with painful human-inflicted injuries right now. Every now and again, we’ll see a sad but heartwarming video of a turtle getting a straw yanked from its nose or a whale being freed from fishing nets that have embedded themselves in the flesh. Recently, a seal in Namibia (southern Africa) was spotted with a fish hook lodged deep in its mouth. Thankfully, the angels on earth that make up Ocean Conservation Namibia were there to free it.
“Imagine living with a sharp hook lodged in your mouth, the fishing line trailing behind you, tugging with every movement,” the rescue group wrote. “This young seal was doing exactly that. The wound was already infected, each swim and dive a fresh surge of pain.”
Ocean Conservation Namibia is dedicated to the protection of Namibia’s marine wildlife. It was started back in 2020 by Naude and Katja Dreyer with the intent of creating more awareness about the impact of plastic pollution on animals in the area, especially the seals in and around Walvis Bay, which is just a stone’s throw from one of the most fantastic waves in the world.
Since there are a lot of seals in that particular region as well as a lot of human trash, it’s pretty common for Ocean Conservation Namibia workers to find themselves lying on top of a struggling Cape fur seal while trying to unwind miles of fishing line from around its neck. Hooks are a different thing entirely, though.
“Unlike loop entanglements, hooks don’t always kill outright but they can slowly starve an animal, weaken its immune system, and alter its behavior until survival becomes impossible,” Ocean Conservation Namibia explained. “When we spotted this hooked seal on the beach, we knew we had to act fast. A quick, careful capture and within a few seconds, the hook was gone, and so was the pain. This should never happen. If anglers faced real accountability for lost gear, they would take more care to prevent it. Until then, seals and other marine animals will keep paying the price for our negligence.”
