Poor Henry the sea lion

[Dogwatcher]

Don’t feed wildlife – it may be
dangerous, and they don’t need it!

Last night, Henry, Adelaide’s much-loved 200kg sea-lion whose home away
from home is on and around West Beach, almost died on the beach.
As Henry lay vomiting and convulsing, concerned DEH Rangers and members
of the public feared for the worst.
After an hour or so, though, the convulsions stopped and an exhausted Henry
was left on the beach overnight to recover.
When he was checked again first thing this morning, having vomited up his
dinner, the sea-lion was feeling much better. A short while later he moved on.
What did Henry have for dinner? DEH’s Manager, Animal Welfare, Dr Deb Kelly
takes over the story.
“It seems that a well-meaning member of the public ‘treated’ Henry to a meal
of shark cutlets yesterday and it really didn’t agree with him,” Deb says.
“This is a perfect example of why we don’t need to feed animals in the wild.
“Our wildlife are not pets and do not rely on human intervention for their
survival. The fact that they live in the wild means that they are perfectly
capable of caring for themselves,” she says.
“Sometimes, it’s true, when conditions are tough it becomes much harder for
wildlife to get by.
“But that’s just nature doing its thing, reducing population numbers in times of
stress so that the stronger animals can survive and keep the species viable for
another generation.
“Wild animals that get used to being fed by people quickly forget how to hunt,
so they’re more vulnerable to starvation or attacks by predators when their
human food sources disappear.
“And we don’t want wildlife to become dependent on humans. Do you fancy
keeping a 200kg sea-lion in your backyard for years?
“It can also be dangerous to feed wildlife, both for the animal (as we saw with
Henry last night) and for humans, who might unintentionally annoy or threaten
the animal and be attacked,” she says.
“The best thing to do when wildlife seeks to share our urban space is to leave
the animals alone and let them do their thing. Enjoy them, take photos, but do
not feed, tease or try to pat them.
“When they get hungry enough, they will return to their hunting grounds to feed
safely on the natural diet available in their home environment.”
“They are wild animals. Let’s keep them wild,” Deb says.

[Footy Chick]

Here, here... poor Henry (just dont eat penguins)