A California sea lion was pulled from Ballona Creek in Los Angeles by wildlife rescuers — who later shockingly discovered the marine mammal had been shot in the head twice and survived.
The adult male sea creature, nicknamed “Confetti,” was rescued January 5 by the Marine Mammal Care Center.
After conducting an X-ray, veterinarians found two bullets embedded in Confetti’s skull, according to a report by KTLA.
It’s unclear how the animal fell prey to gun violence.
But rescue officials said it’s sadly a common occurrence for stranded sea lions on the Southern California coastline to have gunshot wounds or other signs human-caused violence.
Luckily for Confetti, members of the public reported seeing him and helped alert authorities.
Vets determined the animal was suffering from leptospirosis, a potentially deadly bacterial infection that affects the kidneys.
When Confetti arrived at the facility, he could barely move and refused to eat, according to KTLA.
On his fourth day under staff care, he finally became more alert and starting moving around in his enclosure.
A week later, Confetti was eating live fish consistently on his own.
His caretakers said the sea lion was on the mend and continuing to recover.
