By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com
Sgt. Nevis, a sea lion rescued from the Sacramento River last fall after suffering a gunshot wound to the head, was reported recovering from reconstructive surgery this afternoon at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo. (Photo left is of Sgt. Nevis after surgery.)
Jim Oswald, a spokesman from the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, said the nearly 700-pound sea lion had come out of anesthesia following the two-hour operation.
"He's already eaten a couple of fish," Oswald said.
Six Flags officials said the surgery was necessary to cover a crater-like wound under the sea lion's eyes. The wound prevented him from diving deep to forage and placed him at risk for infection.
The surgeons, including Dr. Praful Ramenini, a specialist in human reconstructive surgery, used loosened skin just above the wound and stretched it over the wound.
Officials said Sgt. Nevis will spend a few days recovering in the Six Flags' Vet Clinic quarantine room before being returned to his home in the park's Seal Cove exhibit.
Sgt. Nevis was allegedly shot by a fisherman on the Sacramento River last November. The sea lion was nicknamed Sgt. Nevis for the Yolo County animal control officer, Sgt. Michael Nevis, who helped the Marine Mammal Center rescue him Dec. 5.
The man accused of shooting the sea lion, Larry Allen Legans, 44, of North Highlands, has pleaded not guilty to a single charge of animal cruelty in Sutter Superior Court. He is scheduled for trial Oct. 19.
Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.
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