Stubborn elephant seal tries to cross Calif. highway

– An unusual traffic hazard along Highway 37 in Sonoma County on Monday had officers from the California Highway Patrol and researchers from the Marine Mammal Center playing a game of chicken with a 500 pound wayward elephant seal.

Around 1 p.m., the California Highway Patrol received calls reporting the seal was blocking the slow lane of Highway 37.

CHP Marin shared the above photo of The Marine Mammal Center working to get Tolay the elephant seal back out to the bay on December 29, 2015. The mammal center said on Facebook that a search of the other side of the highway showed nothing that could be of interest to an elephant seal, including a possible pup.

Most of those trying to help the seal left the area Monday evening after she got back in the water and the tide got lower, decreasing her chances of reaching land. “She’s very adamant she’s going to cross this stretch of roadway”.

CHP Officer Andrew Barclay said the CHP received reports that drivers stopped and tried to assist, and the seal attacked them.

After several failed attempts to redirect a pregnant elephant seal away from state Highway 37, wildlife officials have sedated the animal and loaded it onto a truck bound for an established elephant seal colony at Chimney Rock on the Point Reyes National Seashore.

After officials were able to get the elephant seal into the water, it managed to make its way back to the shore, where it ended up getting stuck in the mud. The only problem is that it meant heading for dry land, before she was rerouted from the highway back to the sea.

“She’s a lovely animal who appears to be in ideal health”, Halaska said. “She’s been pretty vocal so she might be a little frustrated but otherwise she seems to be doing fine”.