Lost Baby Sea Lion Rescued On Freeway (VIDEO)

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(Associated Press) SAN FRANCISCO - A baby sea lion was rescued early Monday after wandering onto a busy San Francisco Bay area freeway.

Drivers on Interstate 880 started calling authorities around 5:45 a.m. to report the animal "walking" in the center divider near the Oakland Coliseum, said Peter Van Eckhardt, an officer with the California Highway Patrol.

He said the sea lion likely made it onto land from a nearby San Francisco Bay estuary and crossed the roadway in the middle of the night.

The animals do wander onto Bay area roadways from time to time, Van Eckhardt said. A male sea lion was found waddling on a busy street in Richmond in May, but died from malnutrition.

"It definitely happens on occasion," Van Eckhardt said. "This is pretty off the beaten path for them to come in this far."

An Oakland police officer driving near the coliseum Monday morning loaded the small, grey-coated sea lion into the back of his patrol car and took it to an animal control center, Van Eckhardt said.

Several officers later tried to get the animal, nicknamed "Fruitvale" for the Oakland neighborhood where it was found, into a cage, but it jumped underneath the patrol car. The pup eventually was rounded up and taken to The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, a nonprofit facility that helps sick and injured marine animals. Jim Oswald, a spokesman for the center, said the animal is active and alert but slightly malnourished.

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"I'm sure it was pretty traumatic to go through what (it) did today," Oswald said. "(It) seems to be doing fine."

Veterinarians wanted to give the animal a chance to rest, but they plan to undertake a more thorough medical evaluation Tuesday, Oswald said.

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The center has seen a spike this year in the number of weakened and malnourished sea lions found along the Northern California coast. In a recent week, staff at the center rescued 10 more sea lions a day than usual.

Experts say the increase could be caused by a drop in the number of smaller fish that younger sea lions rely on for food while they are developing.

Comments

[Tommygun264]

Poor little thing. That said, I feel sorry for the next person who has to sit in the back of that patrol car. Anyone who has been down to watch the sea lions in San Francisco Bay and had the wind change direction on them knows what I'm talking about.

[neumann]

As a Canadian, i feel duty bound to bash it over the head with a club

Aaaawwwww he's sooooo cuuuute!

Thwack! Thwack!

[guajiro]

NEUMANN !!!!!!

[SarcasticFringehead]

Gee, he'd make someone a really pair of gloves or a hat.

[TigersEye]

You're baaaaaad!

[edana]

What a sweet littlebaby.....I hope he'll be ok!

[ashabot]

Poor fellow. It's distressing to hear incidents like this are increasing. Over fishing and pollution of the ocean by humans.

[simplelivingmama]

Kinda overkill but I did hear traffic close by.

I found a baby seal on Pacific Coast Highway riding my bike one day when I was 17. Because of construction, there were no cars. I heard him and turned my bike around. He lunged like in the video so I just wrapped my sweater around his head and carried him across the highway and down to the beach. I just took off the jacket and let him go. I was glad for the experience.

[ThinkTavern]

That is an amazing story! What a lucky little seal that was - yours, I mean. (and the one here of course!)

[BrightBody]

The Marine Mammal Center does an incredible and fantastic job with these guys. They always release them back into the wild unless they are permanently handicapped.

It's not unusual to see them in these areas since they are all through the SF Bay.

[Muzikal203]

I hope they release him back to the wild

[wandering girl]

they will make every effort, if he is in good enough health.

[BannedNBoston]

And SEAWORLD paid $600 clams for him!

[TigersEye]

Is this normal for that area, sea lions on the highway?? It sounds really bizarre but I'm glad the pup is okay.

[DrJohnnySkeptic]

I'm glad the poor sweet thing is okay.

[nellie]

Wow. He really was lost, poor little thing.

[Whitley2009]

At last, a news worthy story.