Full recovery expected for entangled seal pup Malle at Vancouver Aquatic Centre

A tiny seal pup that was found near Nanaimo, B.C., with a discarded nylon fishing net cutting deep into her neck is expected to make a full recovery, says the Vancouver Aquarium.

Dr. Karisa Tang, aveterinary fellowat the Vancouver Aquarium, first treated Malle the seal pupwhen she was brought in with injuries.

• Injured seal pup caught in discarded fishing net recovering in Vancouver

"Remarkably for her wounds and how small she is, she came in pretty bright although she is getting a little bit feistier the longer she's there, which is great," saidTang.

The seal pup was given doses of antibiotics and pain medication, said Tang.

Malle was one-third of the size of a normal seal pup when she was brought in. Now the focus is on feeding her fish and doubling her weight, Tang said.

The aquarium saidMallewill be agreat candidate for release in the coming months if she continues to recover at this pace.

Injuries 'entirely preventable'

The pup was first spotted tangled up in the netin early December by someone onBluebackBeach inLantzvilleon Vancouver Island, but she swam away before she could be rescued.

She appeared a week later, and was successfully brought ashore by observers.

When she was brought in, the aquarium saidthe incident wasa stark reminder of the impact of carelessly discarded trash on animals.

"It's always hard to see these kinds of injuriesbecause they're entirely preventable,"thehead veterinarian at the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre MartinHaulena said at the time.

According to the rescue centre, marine debris entanglement is a growing problem worldwide; this year alone the centre has treated 144 seal pups,one sea otterand disentangled several sea lions in the wild.

Haulena says pinnipeds seals and sea lions are particularly vulnerable to entanglementbecause of their curious nature.

The pup was given her name to keep with the aquarium'sathletic theme for the year.She was namedafter snowboarder Malle Ricker, the first Canadian woman to win Olympic gold on home soil at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.