Elephant seal tries to cross Calif. road

California Highway Patrol said the animal was reported trying to get over the center dividing wall to nearby waters.

The 900-pound animal, believed to have arrived in the area after taking a wrong turn, was tranquilized in a field near the intersection with Highway 121 and loaded onto a truck where she underwent a medical evaluation.

Officials said they have no idea why the seal, named “Tolay” by the rescue crews after the inlet she showed up in, was so determined to get away from the bay. Laura Sherr, a public relations specialist for TMMC, said the seal, which weighed an estimated 500 to 1,300 pounds, kept returning to the highway no matter how many times the TMMC and CHP attempted to get her into the water. Wildlife Service crews and CHP officers managed to usher it back into the San Francisco Bay.

Barclay added that the elephant seal had “a lot of weight behind her and a lot of muscle”.

Barbie Halaska, a research assistant with the Marin County-based Marine Mammal Center, said it was unclear why the seal was trying to cross the road – but that such behavior could be driven by the animal’s pregnancy. PHOTOS: Elephant seal captured in Sonoma CountyShe’d been in the water throughout the morning and she didn’t seem like she’d stay put. The angry elephant seal took a gash out of the wooden board Barclay was holding.

They’re hoping the elephant seal will go back out in the Bay with the tide.

Wildlife experts say the seal could be pregnant and is trying to find a place to give birth, but there is no way to confirm that without an ultrasound.

Regardless, she must have been a big fan of “The O.C.” to throw caution to the wind and say, “California, here I come”. “We’re waiting to see if she comes back out onto the road”, Halaska said.