Animal Name: Ditka
Admit Date: 1/26/12
Admit Weight: 78 lbs
Current Weight: 175 lbs
Released Date: 03/24/12
Progress Notes:
California Sea Lion Ditka was rescued from Moonstone Beach in Humboldt County. He is a male and a re-strand from the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, CA. He he came in as a yearling weighing 78 lbs, measuring 125 cm long. He was initially brought in because he had a swollen flipper and was in a bad location meaning too close to people. Ditka was rehabilitated at NMMC and released a second time on March 24, 2012, however he was found the next day at a dock in Crescent City, hanging out with some fishermen who were feeding him fish and petting him. Ditka was brought back to the Center March 25, where he was declared “unreleasable” because he had gotten too used to humans, and would likely not survive in the wild. The NMMC found a placement for Ditka with the U.S. Navy’s marine mammal program, and he was transferred to their facility in San Diego on July 11, 2012.