[Note: undated footage]

[WARNING: sensitive content]

Footage shows the rescue of a sea lion seriously injured by a fishing net in the Partido de la Costa, Argentina. The animal had a
deep wound in its neck caused by a fragment of a fishing net.

A sea lion found horrifically injured with a fishing wire wrapped around its neck has been released back into the sea after a successful recovery.

The animal was rescued by the Mundo Marino Foundation after they were alerted that the animal was left stranded on a beach between the towns of San Clemente and Las Toninas in Argentina on 2nd January.
The video shows the sea lion with the net trapped on its neck, and as rescuers remove it, a deep wound can be seen being caused by the sharp object.

Juan Pablo Loureiro, veterinarian and technical director of the Mundo Marino Foundation said in a statement obtained by Newsflash from Mundo Marino: "Upon entering the Rescue Centre we observed an underweight animal, with a deep and cutting wound on the neck, but with a good attitude.

"In that sense, we first proceeded to extract the fragment of fishing net that caused the wound and then we began to apply an antiseptic substance to the entire injured area to clean and remove all the necrotic tissue."

After a month of recovery, the sea lion of the South American Dos Pelos species (Arctocephalus australis) was released back to the sea, on the beaches of San Clemente, on 5th February.

It can be seen in the video turning back towards its rescuers as if it wants to thank them before going back to its natural habitat.
Biologist and head of the Rescue Center of the Mundo Marino Foundation, Sergio Rodriguez Heredia, said: ​ "This case ​ is a clear example of the negative impact of our bad actions: contamination by garbage, plastic and remains of nets in the ocean.

"With this case of this little wolf, we see what our carelessness causes in animals".