Threatened seal, endangered sea turtle rescued off Vancouver Island
VANCOUVER — The head veterinarian at Vancouver’s aquarium says the warm currents of El Nino may be behind the recent strandings of two animals rarely seen in Canadian waters.
A green sea turtle was rescued from a beach on Vancouver Island’s Pacific Rim National Park on Saturday and a male Guadalupe fur seal was rescued from the same park last Thursday.
These kind of strandings often increase in El Nino years when water is warmer off British Columbia, said Dr. Martin Haulena.
“Changing water temperatures, changing currents, that’s kind of the prime suspect,” he said.