Antoine and Naude identified 2 Cape Fur Seals in need lying near each other at Pelican Point, Namibia. The seal pups were lying very close to the water line so the guys needed to stalk them for about 5 minutes to get close enough for the chase. Antoine used the custom built seal catching net to bag the first one, while Naude went by hand for the second one, which was stuck in commercial fishing line. Once they got the pup in fishing line cut free, the activists moved back to the other youngster still waiting in the net. They were have to get this pup finally as they had seen him twice before but were unable to catch him. He was stuck in a strange rubber strapping that was totally foreign to Antoine and Naude. This rubber was also wrapped around his flipper and would have made swimming very difficult and painful. They cut him free and he swam off happily to join his mom and friends in the water. If anyone knows what the rubber entanglement was, please comment below. OUR APOLOGIES: We uploaded this video an hour ago, but there was a glitch in the video and the screen went black for a while. We have fixed it and uploaded it again. Sorry! To find out more about our work, please like, comment, share and subscribe to our videos and visit: https://www.ocnamibia.org/ https://gogetfunding.com/Seals/ https://twitter.com/NamibiaOcean https://www.instagram.com/oceanconservationnamibia/ https://www.facebook.com/OCNamibia

Activists Naude and Antoine from OCN (www.ocnamibia.org) spotted two seals with entanglements at Pelican Point, Namibia. Naude chased a seal with fishing line wrapped around him, while Antoine pursued a seal with a thin rope around his chest. We could see from far away that the thin piece of rope had caused a deep cut and a painful injury. Naude's seal was not entangled after all, but Antoine's seal needed urgent help. He probably played around with the rope under water, and ended up getting stuck in it. As the seal grew, the rope cut deeper and deeper into his flesh, until the seal would have been too big to survive. Naude and Antoine used the hook from the Leatherman Raptor Scissors to cut through the rope and they gently pulled it out to avoid further pain and damage. The wound was very clean without infection, the seal should make a swift recovery. The salt water is anti bacterial and acts as a good disinfectant. Judging by the cleanliness of the wound and the tightness of the rope, we recon the entanglement happened likely about 3 or 4 weeks ago. To find out more about our work, please like, comment, share and subscribe to our videos and visit: https://www.ocnamibia.org/ https://gogetfunding.com/Seals/ https://twitter.com/NamibiaOcean https://www.instagram.com/oceanconservationnamibia/ https://www.facebook.com/OCNamibia

Antoine and Naude from Ocean Conservation Namibia (www.ocnamibia.org) found and rescued 4 seals from ocean Plastic at Pelican Point, close to Walvis Bay and Swakopmund in Namibia. Each seal was entangled in ocean rubbish. Two of the seals were caught in a piece of snoek fishing line, one seal was caught in a string tied to a PVC pipe, and one seal was caught in a water bottle ring. It was a fast and crazy rescue with all 4 animals rescued in one run. We often encounter more seals in need as we run closer to the group. The problem of entanglement caused by discarded fishing gear and ocean pollution is not getting any less, even in times of worldwide recession due to lock down. To find out more about our work, please like, comment, share and subscribe to our videos and visit: https://www.ocnamibia.org/ https://gogetfunding.com/Seals/ https://twitter.com/NamibiaOcean https://www.instagram.com/oceanconservationnamibia/ https://www.facebook.com/OCNamibia

Antoine and Naude from Ocean Conservation Namibia (www.ocnamibia.org) spotted this male Cape Fur Seal at Pelican Point from far away with their binoculars. He had a white piece of plastic packaging strap wrapped around his neck. They had to chase him for a while because the group of seals was skittish and they had to park far away. When they eventually got to the seal, they managed to capture him with their custom build seal catching net and they quickly freed him from the packaging strap. The plastic likely originated from a fishing vessel. Once the seal was freed, he was allowed to run off back into the ocean. Just when Naude said that he had another cute and friendly seal on his hands, the seal decided to charge him! Luckily nobody got hurt. As much as we enjoy the cute and tender moments with some of our seals, we never forget that they are wild animals. They are not pets and should never be underestimated. To find out more about our work, please like, comment, share and subscribe to our videos and visit: https://www.ocnamibia.org/ https://gogetfunding.com/Seals/ https://twitter.com/NamibiaOcean https://www.instagram.com/oceanconservationnamibia/ https://www.facebook.com/OCNamibia

Two seal rescues in one go for Ocean Conservation Namibia (www.ocnamibia.org): Seal 1 was already in the water, but Naude managed to pull it out again. We often only get one chance to catch a seal, if they get away, we will likely not see them again and they will not be able to survive. Once back on land, Naude cut off the ball of fishing line. The little baby seal was not injured yet, but the line had already some tension, it would have started to cut into his skin as the seal grows. Tony found another seal with entanglement. Once he was immobilised, the activists realised quickly that he was stuck in a piece of wire, not fishing gear. It is a very uncommon culprit, but luckily Naude's pliers were strong enough to cut it lose. We have a bolt cutter in our vehicle for serious cases, but it was not needed today. To find out more about our work, please like, comment, share and subscribe to our videos and visit: https://www.ocnamibia.org/ https://gogetfunding.com/Seals/ https://twitter.com/NamibiaOcean https://www.instagram.com/oceanconservationnamibia/ https://www.facebook.com/OCNamibia

We almost lost this one: this little baby seal had a piece of fishing line attached to him. For a brief moment, we lost track of him in the middle of all the other Cape Fur Seals. Luckily Naude spotted him and he managed to slow him down by grabbing the fishing line. He was strong and feisty, but the activists from Ocean Conservation Namibia (www.ocnamibia.org) managed to hold him down, and Denzil and Antoine cut cut him loose with the hook of our Leatherman Raptor Scissors. This particular kind of entanglement would have prevented him from eating, and eventually it would have cut off his circulation, leading to necrosis and his death. To find out more about our work, please like, comment, share and subscribe to our videos and visit: https://www.ocnamibia.org/ https://gogetfunding.com/Seals/ https://twitter.com/NamibiaOcean https://www.instagram.com/oceanconservationnamibia/ https://www.facebook.com/OCNamibia

Two seal rescues at Pelican Point, Namibia: Seal 1 was caught by Ocean Conservation Namibia's newest team member Denzil - he out-sprinted Naude and Antoine and reached the Cape Fur Seal pup first. He had a piece of plastic wrapped around his neck, possibly a piece of a non-degradable filter or diaper. The entanglement was fresh, no damage was done to the seal. After a quick rescue, he was free to go. Seal 2 was caught by Antoine with the seal net. She had a thin piece of fishing line around her neck for at least a few weeks. As the small seal grows, the entanglement tightens more and more, leading to injuries, pain, infection, starvation and eventually death. Luckily our team of activists found her soon enough, and the salt water will help her with her recovery. So far, as of 04 July 2020, we have caught 281 seals in 2020. To find out more about our work, please like, comment, share and subscribe to our videos and visit: https://www.ocnamibia.org/ https://gogetfunding.com/Seals/ https://twitter.com/NamibiaOcean https://www.instagram.com/oceanconservationnamibia/ https://www.facebook.com/OCNamibia

Early in the morning, Naude, Antoine and Denzil from Ocean Conservation Namibia (www.ocnamibia.org) used their binoculars to spot a long fishing line attached to a lure, which seemed to be hooked in a seal's tongue. They had to be quick because he was close to the water, and once in the water, we cannot catch them anymore. Often, we only have one chance to catch the animal, before it might be gone forever. First lost out of sight, Denzil spotted it and used our custom built seal catching net to stop the seal from reaching the water. It was a small baby and the net was not needed for the activists' protection. Naude help the seal, while Antoine removed the hook from his tongue. It was difficult to take it out, because the seal was in pain and moved around a lot. Once the hook was removed, the seal relaxed completely and even took time to sniff around and look back at the team rescuers, hopefully approvingly. When he realised he was free to go, he ran off to the ocean. To find out more about our work, please like, comment, share and subscribe to our videos and visit: https://www.ocnamibia.org/ https://gogetfunding.com/Seals/ https://twitter.com/NamibiaOcean https://www.instagram.com/oceanconservationnamibia/ https://www.facebook.com/OCNamibia

This large female Cape Fur Seal was spotted at Pelican Point, Namibia. Activists Antoine and Naude from Ocean Conservation Namibia (www.ocnamibia.org) spotted her while busy with a different seal rescue. They saw the fishing line in the sand and traced it back to the seal. She was already in the water, trying to escape her rescue, but Naude managed to catch her with our custom built seal catching net. She was visibly and audibly struggling. She could barely breathe, probably aggravated from the stress of the rescue. With their faithful Leatherman Raptor scissors, they managed to cut her free and she could jump back into the ocean. Rescues are stressful for our animals, but if we do not interfere, the entangled seals will die of starvation, infection, or even decapitation. We often get only one chance, we have to use it. To find out more about our work, please like, comment, share and subscribe to our videos and visit: https://www.ocnamibia.org/ https://gogetfunding.com/Seals/ https://twitter.com/NamibiaOcean https://www.instagram.com/oceanconservationnamibia/ https://www.facebook.com/OCNamibia