‘Stubborn’ elephant seal weighing 1000lbs crosses California highway and

The seal, which some rescuers have dubbed “Tolay” after the name of the marshland where she has hunkered down, pushed back and barked at the Marine Mammal Center rescue crews as they used boards and a kayak to try to corral her away from road.

The Marine Mammal Center and the San Pablo Bay National Marine Sanctuary first dispatched rescue teams Monday after receiving reports of a seal blocking state Route 37. Barbie Halaska from the Marine Mammal Center told ABC 7 that the seal may be about to give birth, saying, “If she is about to give birth that means she is in her prime. So she was moving us pretty easily, a lot of force”.

The “very large, very determined” seal was trying to climb over the center divider, and passersby who tried to stop and help her reported that she attacked their vehicle, Barclay said.

Barclay and others were able to coax the seal back into the estuary, but she kept returning to make three more attempts to cross the road.

Veterinarians sedated the elephant seal attempting to cross Highway 37 in Sonoma County.

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.

Officials at the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito warned local residents never to approach a stranded seal.

Drivers then stopped and tried unsuccessfully to shoo her back toward the water. All efforts to get her to go back to the bay were not working and, at times, she was even putting up a fight.

Experts say it is possible that the seal could be pregnant and is trying to find a place to give birth. 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.

“I think she’s just gotten a little bit disoriented”, Halaska said.