Durban - Captain, the Cape gannet that endured a two-hour surgery to remove two fishing hooks from his stomach over a week ago, died.
Last week, Dr Francois Lampen, uShaka Sea World veterinarian, performed a necropsy (an autopsy performed on an animal) last Wednesday, which revealed that the most significant contributing factor to the bird’s death was damage to Captain’s heart muscles.
An infection caused by the hooks led to the damage to his heart muscles, said South African Association for Marine Biological Research (Saambr) on their Facebook page.
“Hopefully we will all remember Captain’s brave fight for a second chance when we see discarded fishing tackle. Please take a moment to stop and pick up the tackle, even though it's not yours and place it in a bin. For fishermen, the message is simple, when you see diving birds eyeing your bait, please reel in before they too end up like Captain with hooks in their stomachs,” Saambr said.
Captain, was found at Ifafa Beach, on the South Coast, with at least 15cm of fishing line sticking out of its mouth.
Gerald, a second gannet was brought into uShaka Sea World, tangled in fish hooks and wire.