California Seal Highway Encounter Ends With Tranquiliser, And Return To The Wild

Wildlife experts and California Highway Patrol officers were in the midst of daring rescue in the North Bay Monday afternoon after a truculent elephant seal tried to cross a highway and was resisting attempts to get it to go back into the water, officials said.

The California Highway Patrol arrived with a US Fish and Wildlife Service Crew and they managed to usher the huge animal back into the water.

“She’s a lovely animal who appears to be in ideal health”, Barbie Halaska, a research assistant at The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito told the San Francisco Chronicle.

CHP Officer Andrew Barclay helped corral the 900-pound mammal into the estuary Tuesday, where she seemed content. “We quickly realized 500 pounds of elephant seal is not going to be easy to move!” She may have been trying to find a good spot to give birth.

Mary Laughlin, 60, of Washington, said she heard about the seal when she was on her way to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena and she made a decision to stop and take a look.

“The ultimate goal would be to get her transported away from the area and released back somewhere safe”, Barclay said.

Using a tarp borrowed from Six Flags, about 15 people dragged her to a lift truck, which was very necessary in getting the half-ton mammal off the ground.

After the seal was sedated, an ultrasound revealed that it was pregnant. The elephant seal hopped out of San Pablo Bay, around 1 p.m., scooted its way in front of eastbound Highway 37 traffic and tried to crawl over the median.

Drivers then stopped and tried unsuccessfully to shoo her back toward the water. Volunteers said they usually deal with stranded sea lions in this area but typically don’t see elephant seals, which are commonly found up north in Point Reyes or down in the Peninsula at Ano Nuevo State Park.