Sea lion pup found on Sunnyvale street released

A sea lion pup turning up on a Sunnyvale street sounds like one of those Bay Area stories that has to be exaggerated. But this one was real. In late March, a young California sea lion somehow made it from the Baylands area to Bordeaux Drive, near Moffett Federal Airfield and Google’s campus, and ended up stranded in a place built for cars, not marine mammals. The news now is the good part — after a month of rehab, the pup, nicknamed Bordeaux, is back in the ocean. (cbsnews.com) ### How did a sea lion end up in Sunnyvale? Young sea lions can swim inland through connected waterways and then keep moving once they haul out in the wrong place. Sunnyvale’s Department of Public Safety said Bordeaux was spotted on the morning of March 24 on Bordeaux Drive, just east of Moffett Federal Airfield and nor(cbsnews.com)nd up far from where a pup can safely rest. (cbsnews.com) ### Why was that dangerous? A street stranding is bad on two levels. First, there’s the obvious traffic risk. Second, a pup that wanders this far inland is often already in trouble. Bordeaux was described as skinny and starving when rescuers got him to The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, where he received stabilizing care and then continued improving. The weird location was the clue, but malnutrition was the real problem. (kron4.com) ### Who rescued him? Sunnyvale public safety officers handled the first response, which is not exactly standard suburban animal control work. They coordinated to secure the pup and get him transferred to The Marine Mammal Center, the Bay Area’s main marine mammal rescue hospital. The department leaned into how unusual the call (kron4.com)s a different kind of shift. (cbsnews.com) ### What happened at rehab? The center treated Bordeaux as a California sea lion pup suffering from malnutrition, and that matters because these cases can turn fast if the animal is weak, dehydrated, or unable to forage. Over the next few weeks he regained strength and improved enough to be cleared for release. By April 29, the center had moved him from patient to released status. (marinemammalcenter.org) ### Why are there so many young sea lions in trouble this time of year? Turns out spring is exactly when rescue teams expect an influx. The Marine Mammal Center notes that pups are born in June and usually stay with their mothers for about 10 months, so spring is when young animals can show up stranded if feeding has gone badly or they’ve been separ(marinemammalcenter.org)n a Sunnyvale road — but it does explain why rehab teams were ready for this kind of patient. (marinemammalcenter.org) ### Where was he released? Bordeaux was released back into the wild on April 29 at Point Reyes, one of the center’s regular release areas on the Marin coast. That’s a much better reset point — open coastline, marine habitat, and a straight shot back to being an actual sea lion instead of a local traffic incident. (kron4.com)uld people do if they see one? The big rule is simple — don’t approach, don’t try to move it, and don’t assume it just needs a push toward water. Stranded marine mammals can be sick, stressed, or resting in a fragile state. In Northern California, The Marine Mammal Center asks people to call 415-289-SEAL if they find a distressed seal or sea lion. (cbsnews.com) ### Bottom line? Bordeaux’s story is funny for about five seconds — a sea lion on Bordeaux Drive, near Google, in the middle of Silicon Valley. But the real story is rescue working exactly the way it should. A badly underweight pup was found fast, treated fast, and released a month later with a real shot at making it. (cbsnews.com)