A badly injured sea lion discovered on a Peruvian beach has been delivered back to its home, an island populated by dozens of fellow sea lions, rescue workers say.
Following six weeks of intensive care by the country's Organization for Research and Conservation of Aquatic Animals, the 18-month-old sea lion, dubbed Ringo, was taken by Coast Guard cutter to the Palomino Islands, where he happily jumped off the board to join the group.
Workers for the conservation group said they suspected Ringo's serious wounds to his head and his left eye were the result of a beating by fishermen, who often consider sea lions as pests and competitors for fish.
The group regularly finds itself working with sea lions, which in addition to problems with fishermen who regard them as rivals for fishing resources, are considered an endangered species.
The animal was found on a beach near the country's capital of Lima, and was taken to the conservation group, which named him and tended to his injuries until they considered him recovered enough to the returned to the wild.
Sea lions are marine mammals found in tropical to subarctic waters in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. They are related to seals and walruses.
With an average life span of between 20 and 30 years, some species can grow as large as 2,200 pounds and be as long as 10 feet.
Their need to consume large amounts of food to sustain themselves -- almost 10 percent of their body weight at a single feeding -- is what sometimes puts them at odds with fishermen, who are looking to gather the same fish as the sea lions pursue.
Some species take well to training by humans and are often featured as performers at aquariums and zoos, a practice sometimes protested by wildlife activists as being cruel and unnatural for the animals.
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