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Jun 22, 2009 8:16 pm US/Pacific
Sea Lion Rescued After Wandering On S.F. Freeway
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ―
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A sea lion cowers under an Oakland Police patrol car after being found along Interstate 880 Monday.
CBS
A baby sea lion was rescued early Monday after wandering onto a busy San Francisco Bay area freeway.
More than a dozen 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 probably made it onto land from a San Francisco Bay estuary near the stadium and crossed the roadway some time in the middle of the night.
Van Eckhardt says the animals do wander onto Bay area roadways from time to time. A male sea lion was found waddling on a busy street in Richmond in May, but died from malnourishment.
"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. It was eventually rounded up and taken to The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, where spokesman Jim Oswald said the animal is active and alert but slightly malnourished.
"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 and plan to undertake a more thorough medical evaluation Tuesday, Oswald said.
The center has seen a spike this year in the number of weakened and malnourished sea lions found along the Northern California coast. Staff at the center in a recent week 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.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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