Drivers Stop on Busy Highway to Protect Sea Lion from Traffic in San Diego
This is the moment two good Samaritans helped a wayward sea lion cross a freeway in San Diego, four miles away from the bay.
The footage, captured by a driver who stopped in an eastbound lane for the sea lion, was taken on January 7 at 9.40am on state Route 94.
Leslie Fernandes, shown in the video helping the sea lion, told FOX5 San Diego: ‘We were just trying to keep it from going from one side of the freeway to the other, keep it in the middle.’
Good Samaritans helped escort a wayward sea lion across the road, after it found itself on a freeway near San Diego four miles from the bay
Fernandes continued: ‘Couple of times he got aggressive and tried to come out towards the oncoming traffic.’
The less-than-grateful sea lion was subsequently netted by SeaWorld crew, who took it to their rescue facility.
According to staff at SeaWorld, the 250-pound male sea lion had been tagged before by rescuers at the marine life facility.
In an interview with FOX5 San Diego, Eric Otjen, a member of the SeaWorld rescue team, said: ‘It was rescued in early November from Harbor Island Drive, was released shortly after and has been showing up in kind of odd situations and spots since then.
The 250-pound male reportedly acted aggressively toward its helpers, shuffling in the direction of the oncoming traffic in defiance of its helpers’ instructions
‘This is the weirdest, though,’ Eric added.
The sea lion’s most recent outing, which included a four-mile shuffle from the bay, and culminated in a risky freeway crossing, could be the wayward marine mammal’s final excursion.
SeaWorld have reported the National Marine Fisheries Service is considering whether the adventurous creature should be kept in permanent captivity.
In the past, the errant sea lion has been spotted along the boardwalk in Mission Beach, close to a deli in Mission Bay, as well as on the Navy Base in Point Loma, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
