SAN FRANCISCO—A sea lion pup spent a short time waddling about San Francisco’s Marina neighborhood on Thursday, April 30.
At approximately 6:30 a.m., reports came in of a juvenile sea lion hiding under a silver SUV parked near the crossing of Marina Boulevard and Divisadero Street.
San Francisco Police Department officers responded to the scene and helped keep the lost pup out of harms’ way until animal rescuers from the Marine Mammal Center arrived. Following a 30 minute extraction effort, the pup was placed in a carrier and transported to the Marine Mammal Center for professional evaluation.
The rescued pup is one of many wayward sea lions that have found themselves beached in foreign human environments. Due to this year’s unusually warm waters, the fluctuating availability of small fish species such as mackerel, sardines, and anchovies have affected the sea lion population’s food supply, leading thousands of pups stranded along the California shoreline in search of sustenance.
All San Francisco/Bay Area residents that spot beached sea lions are asked to dial the Marine Mammal Center at (415) 289-SEAL.
