When traffic was backed up on the US-101 freeway, just south of San Francisco, highway patrolmen weren’t certain of the cause. Car accidents, traffic jams, or debris on the highway typically caused massive back-ups.
Then, Officer Roger Pereira made the most unusual (and adorable) discovery — the culprit was actually a tiny sea lion pup!
Source: Associated Press/YouTube
When he first arrived on the scene, he believed the reports of a strange creature in the middle of the highway to be a prank. But, sure enough, he discovered that a sweet baby from the ocean was lost in the middle of traffic.
Source: Associated Press/YouTube
The 10-month-old sea lion wasn’t harmed and was actually being guarded by a group of motorists that pulled over when they saw him. The Good Samaritans wanted to make sure he wasn’t struck by oncoming traffic.
Any animal would have difficulty staying safe on the 101 freeway, but the tiny pup was especially vulnerable. He didn’t move very fast on land and desperately needed some protection.
Source: Associated Press/YouTube
The sea lion pup was far from home, but he didn’t seem panicked. Instead, he was simply curious about the human world he found himself in!
“Even with all the loud noise of vehicles passing by and all the people around him, the sea lion was very calm and curious about what was going on,” Officer Pereira said via The Dodo.
Source: Associated Press/YouTube
Officer Pereira helped the little sea lion into his patrol car — once again, the sweet baby didn’t mind the new adventure. In fact, he even seemed to enjoy the car ride.
The highway patrolman took the lost pup to the Peninsula SPCA; the SPCA checked him over to make sure he was healthy, then transferred him to The Marine Mammal Rescue Center. Fortunately, the pup only suffered from slight malnutrition and a minor cut to one of his flippers.
The sea lion was then transferred to The Marine Mammal Rescue Center, where an examination revealed him to be healthy besides slight malnutrition and a minor cut to his flipper.
The staff at the rescue center named the little baby “Kid,” and will be keeping a close eye on him. Once he grows into a healthy adolescent and gets some strength, he will be released back into the wild. For now, he’ll keep having more adventures far away from home!
Please ‘SHARE' to pass on this story to a friend or family member
