Sea Lion Pup Found Wandering Streets
- Rescuers found an emaciated sea lion pup roaming San Francisco streets and police were notified. - The pup is being evaluated by wildlife officials to determine health and whether it can be returned to the bay. - If sick or injured, the animal could be rehabbed by local marine rescue groups; updates posted here (patch.com).
A California sea lion pup that wandered onto a San Francisco street is now in intensive care after rescuers found him severely malnourished. (marinemammalcenter.org) The pup was found in the early morning of April 16 near 48th Avenue and Irving Street in the Outer Sunset, about a block from Ocean Beach. San Francisco police, Recreation and Parks rangers, and a trained responder from The Marine Mammal Center helped corral him into a carrier crate. (abc7news.com) The center has named him Irving and moved him to its Sausalito hospital. Veterinarians there said the male pup is about 10 months old and weighed 40 pounds on intake, roughly half the expected weight for his age. (marinemammalcenter.org) Irving is still young for a California sea lion to be alone. The Marine Mammal Center said pups of this species typically stay with their mothers for about the first year, and the center says spring often brings in young animals that are just starting to fend for themselves. (marinemammalcenter.org 1) (marinemammalcenter.org 2) That helps explain why rescuers treat a wandering pup as a medical case, not just a misplaced animal. KQED reported Irving was being tube-fed after admission, and the center said blood tests were ordered to check for any underlying illness behind the malnutrition. (kqed.org) (marinemammalcenter.org) Officials have not pinned down exactly how he got there. A spokesperson for the center told KQED the most likely route is that Irving came ashore at Ocean Beach, climbed a stairwell, crossed the Great Highway, and kept moving inland. (kqed.org) California sea lions are common along the West Coast and are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. NOAA Fisheries says they use beaches, docks, buoys, and jetties, which makes a city sidewalk an obvious sign that something has gone wrong. (fisheries.noaa.gov) For now, the center says Irving is “active and quite feisty,” which staff consider a good early sign. His next step is weight gain, more testing, and, if recovery stays on track, a move from quarantine to a rehabilitation pool before any release decision. (marinemammalcenter.org) (kron4.com)
