Elephant seal crossing California highway causes traffic mess

The Marine Mammal Center and the San Pablo Bay National Marine Sanctuary first dispatched rescue teams on Monday after receiving reports of a seal blocking state Route 37.

Highway patrol officers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and a marine mammal center all tried to help the seal.

“Every time we got her in the water, she circled back and tried to climb out again”.

But she was not so easily dissuaded from her adventure, and the seal made it back to land twice.

Rescue crews were continuing to monitor the seal, who appeared to be “healthy” with no injuries, early Tuesday morning, Laura Sherr, a public relations specialist for The Marine Mammal Center (TMMC) told the news network.

TMMC tried to steer her through a waterway back to the bay using a kayak but the efforts were unsuccessful (video above).

A seal slowed traffic on Highway 37 near Sears Point in California on Monday, December 29, 2015.

One possibility is that the sea lion is pregnant and trying to find a place to give birth, but Halaska said there is no way to confirm that short of an ultrasound.

Experts said she could have gotten confused, or is about to give birth and is trying to reach the dry land on the other side of the road. “We need the tide to buoy her, and make it more easy to direct her”.

She could not get over the concrete center median despite repeated attempts, according to the mammal center.

It followed a day-long stand-off in which wildlife experts used horns and paddles to try to encourage the animal back into the water.

“Our main goal is that we keep her out of the roadway and in the water”. The angry elephant seal took a gash out of the wooden board Barclay was holding.

Officials are giving the elephant seal another 24 hours to desist in her efforts.