A group of rescuers saved a sea lion after he got his head stuck inside a tire while swimming.
The creature was spotted by beachgoers with the rubber tire wrapped tightly around its portly neck.
Clearly in some discomfort, the passers-by called for the help of a local wildlife group, Fundacion Fauna Argentina (FFA).
Knowing the trash was slowly cutting the animals air flow off as he struggled to get it off, they knew they had to act quickly.
So the quick thinking group – who are all volunteers and dedicate themselves to protecting wildlife and environment – fashioned a pole with a hook on the end.
One brave member inched close to the increasingly erratic sea lion in Mar del Plata, Argentina.
After several failed attempts, the volunteer manages to hook the makeshift pole onto the edge of the tire.
Then with a heave, the group begin pulling at the tire to loosen, as the sea lion thrashes around.
And eventually, the tire flies off the sea lion, who dashes back to the ocean to cheers from onlookers.
Juan Antonio Lorenzani, the president of the FFA, said: “Anaesthesia was not advisable because the sea lion could fall asleep in the water and with the added weight of the tire drown to death.
“So the only way to free it was to use a device to pull the tire off.”
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With the increase in plastics and waste discarded into the oceans, the FFA say incidents such as this are becoming all too frequent.
Juan added: “The only way to avoid deaths with these deadly waste is greater awareness among the population of the issues and re-education in terms of discarding waste.
“It is common for the foundation to rescue animals trapped in plastics.
“On average we rescue 30 to 40 animals per year, but that figure grows every year due to pollution.”
