Beachgoer sees baby seal with 'squid' in her mouth — but something is wrong
When a beachgoer in Santa Barbara, California, spotted a young seal with what looked like a squid in her mouth, it seemed like she’d just scored an easy meal.
But something wasn’t right.
On closer inspection, the animal was in distress — the “squid” wasn’t food at all, but something far more dangerous.
The beachgoer quickly reported the situation to the Channel Islands Marine and Wildlife Institute (CIMWI) hotline, and volunteer responders rushed to Hope Ranch Beach. There, they found the northern elephant seal pup with a hook attached to a rubber lure embedded in her mouth. Seal pups around 2 to 3 months of age are just learning to hunt for food, such as fish and squid, but their inexperience can lead to dangerous mistakes.
“It was most likely an opportunistic situation with the pup mistaking the recreational rubber fishing lure for squid,” Ruth Dover, managing director and cofounder of CIMWI, told The Dodo.
Rescuers rushed the seal back to the CIMWI facility, where the team removed the hook.
The seal is CIMWI’s 30th pinniped patient this year — marked with an ID tag to match. “CIMWI patients do not get names, they get numbers,” Dover said. “These are wild animals and not pets. Our goal is to return these sentinel animals back to the wild after providing veterinary medical care, rehabilitation and the nutrition necessary to achieve a healthy body condition.”
Number 30 is healing well and is in “fish school” to learn how to eat.
Rehabilitators “assist feed” her twice a day, which means volunteers position fish in the seal’s mouth and move the food to the back of her throat for her to swallow. She’s also tube-fed a smoothie of blended fish, high-calorie salmon oil and water.
When the seal was first rescued, she weighed 75 pounds. Most northern elephant seal pups stay in CIMWI’s care for a couple of months and return to the wild weighing about 200 pounds, so she’s got a bit of a ways to go.
While at CIMWI, rescued animals head to their weigh-ins in a "sealbarrow." This reduces human interaction, so caretakers don’t have to train the seals to walk onto the scale and stay still.
On average, CIMWI rescues about 225 marine mammals a year and has saved more than 60 so far in 2026.
Once number 30 is healthy, she will get a second chance at life in the wild. CIMWI releases marine mammals with wild animals of the same species to help ensure the reintroductions are successful. In the meantime, number 30 has made fast friends with another rescued seal pal, number 27.
The rescue is grateful the beachgoer reported the seal to the hotline but stayed back, allowing wildlife experts to assess the situation without further stressing out the seal. The Marine Mammal Protection Act makes it illegal for anyone other than trained rescuers to touch or interact with the animals. It’s always best to call for help and leave these situations to the professionals.
Number 30’s case is a critical reminder of why it’s so important never to leave fishing lures, lines or anything that doesn’t belong in the ocean behind.
