Pets & Animals

OAKLAND (CBS 5 / KCBS / AP / BCN) ― A malnourished baby sea lion was rescued Monday by Oakland police officers after wandering onto a busy East Bay freeway.

Drivers on northbound Interstate 880 started calling authorities about 5:45 a.m. after spotting the creature waddling along the center divider near the Oakland Coliseum, just south of Park Street.

"They initially called us because it was in close proximity to the freeway," California Highway Patrol officer Sam Morgan said.

Morgan and fellow CHP officer Peter Van Eckhardt said officials think the sea lion made it onto land from a San Francisco Bay estuary near the stadium.

Experts guessed that the sea lion was either seeking food or was weakened and got lost.

"It's common for marine mammals to swim up tributaries and rivers to look for food," Marine Mammal Center spokesman Jim Oswald said.

Rescuers nicknamed the animal "Fruitvale," after the neighborhood near where it was found.

Oswald said that Oakland police had tried to block the sea lion's path with a patrol car.

"I'm told that one of them opened the door to the police car and little Fruitvale just jumped right in," he said.

The pup was initially held in the police vehicle until it could be transported to the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, where it was examined by veterinarians.

Oswald said Monday afternoon that an evaluation of the sea lion found it to be active and alert, but mildly underweight due to being malnourished.

"We're kind of giving him some space," Oswald said, acknowledging
he didn't know for sure yet whether "Fruitvale" is male or female.

A male sea lion was found on another East Bay highway in May, but later died from malnourishment.

In recent years sea lions have turned up in a number of unlikely spots in the Bay Area, notably in February 2004 when "Chippy," a 315-pound sea lion waddled onto a road in Los Banos after swimming up the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

"Chippy" earned his nickname by hopping onto the trunk of a CHP car during an effort to corral him. He was released back into the ocean after a stay at the Marine Mammal Center.

If all goes well, "Fruitvale" would likely be released soon too, Oswald said.

Monday's incident came as a growing number of skinny and sick young sea lions are apparently stranding themselves on California's beaches.

Scientists believe changing ocean conditions and a depleted food supply could be the reason for their strange behavior.

This month alone, the Marine Mammal Center has already rescued around 300 malnourished sea lions.

Volunteers said they found many more animals in need, but simply did not have the capacity to help them all.

The organization is caring for up to 20 sea lions a day and leaving the others to fend for themselves.

The Marine Mammal Center, which reopened June 15 after a major renovation, is always looking for donations and volunteers, Oswald said.

The center has received 1,272 rescue calls in the first 15 days of June, compared to 530 for the entire month of June last year, Oswald said.

Of the 1,272 calls for the first half of this month, 315 were for sea lions, he said. The center also has facilities in Monterey and Morro Bay.

Volunteers are needed to help take the calls, care for animals, perform administrative and docent duties, and work in the gift shop, among other opportunities.

Those interested can visit marinemammalcenter.org.

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