Sea Lion Pup Found Wandering SF Streets
- A young sea lion pup was found wandering San Francisco streets and is now being evaluated by rescuers. - Officials say it's unknown why the pup left its usual coastal habitat, and no human injuries were reported. - Local wildlife teams will decide rehabilitation or release options as they monitor the pup's health (patch.com).
A 10-month-old California sea lion pup was found wandering San Francisco’s Outer Sunset before dawn on April 16 and taken to a rescue hospital in Sausalito. (marinemammalcenter.org) The pup was discovered near 48th Avenue and Irving Street, about a block from Ocean Beach, after apparently coming ashore and crossing inland streets overnight. San Francisco police, Recreation and Parks rangers, and a trained responder from The Marine Mammal Center corralled him into a carrier crate. (kqed.org) Rescuers named him Irving after the street where he was found. The center said he is a young male and was transferred first to a ranger station near Kezar Stadium, then to the center’s hospital later that morning. (marinemammalcenter.org) Veterinarians said Irving is severely malnourished. He weighed 40 pounds at intake, about half the normal weight for a sea lion his age, and blood tests were ordered to check for any underlying illness. (marinemammalcenter.org) California sea lions are native to the West Coast and usually stay in coastal waters, on beaches, docks, buoys, and jetties. They are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. (fisheries.noaa.gov) Young sea lions usually remain with their mothers for much of their first year, and wildlife staff said Irving is too young to be on his own. Giancarlo Rulli of The Marine Mammal Center told KQED that pups just starting to forage often struggle to find food and can turn up “out of habitat” when they are malnourished. (kqed.org) Federal scientists said long-term research has linked environmental conditions and food availability to higher numbers of malnourished California sea lion pups washing ashore. NOAA Fisheries said those data help explain spikes in strandings when young animals cannot get enough to eat. (fisheries.noaa.gov) For now, Irving is still in early rehabilitation and being tube-fed, according to KQED. Rulli said malnourished pups often stay at the center for six to 10 weeks before staff decide whether they are strong enough to return to the wild. (kqed.org) The center said Irving has at least one encouraging sign: he is “active and quite feisty.” His next steps depend on test results, weight gain, and whether he can recover enough to head back to the coast. (marinemammalcenter.org)
