VANCOUVER - A dehydrated, severely underweight northern fur seal pup is being treated at a rescue centre in Vancouver after being scooped from the waters off the northeast coast of Vancouver Island.
The Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Centre says in a release that the roughly seven-month-old pup was floating sideways and unable to dive when it was spotted Monday by employees of a salmon farm near Johnstone Strait.
The seal was flown to Vancouver where rescue centre staff say it's small for its age and requires intensive observation.
Centre assistant manager Emily Johnson says the pup, now named Mo, had been weaned but was failing to thrive.
Mo is receiving antibiotics and other treatment and will be given a more thorough physical exam once her condition stabilizes.
The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada lists northern fur seals as threatened, but they are not yet listed under the Species at Risk Act.
