Wayward Elephant Seal Found On Delta Road

SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY, Calif. - KCRA.com

A scuffed, lost but otherwise healthy young elephant seal was found along a rural Delta road on Thursday morning.

The 120-pound animal was spotted along Bacon Island Road near Highway 4, about 10 miles west of Stockton.

The California Highway Patrol kept an eye on the creature until officials from the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito arrived to pick it up.

The area where the seal was found is full of canals and sloughs. It is not uncommon for sea lions and seals to be seen.

The seal appeared to have some road rash.

"So he got confused," Richard Farris from the Marine Mammal Center said. "He should be heading in the ocean side. So we're going to take a look at him. He looks pretty healthy, actually."

Traffic had to drive on the shoulder.

"At first I tried running along side of him … I tried to corral him and just keep him in this lane to keep traffic moving," CHP officer Roberto Iniguez said.

In a separate case, a search continued Thursday for an injured sea lion last seen Wednesday in the Sacramento River in Old Sacramento.

The year-old pup is being called Gibraltar. A child who swam the Strait of Gibraltar to raise money for the Marine Mammal Center inspired the name.

If he is determined to be healthy, the mammal will be put back into the ocean.

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