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Motorists on a busy highway in San Diego were shocked when they saw a sea lion wandering near the road. As traffic slowed down, several drivers contacted authorities about the wayward animal. Other drivers tried to help by using their cars to herd the animal away from oncoming traffic.
"We were just trying to keep it from going from one side of the freeway to the other, keep it in the middle," driver Leslie Fernandes told KSWB. "Couple of times he got aggressive and tried to come out towards the oncoming traffic."
After receiving 911 calls, the California Highway Patrol contacted SeaWorld, which sent a team of rescuers to capture the 200-pound juvenile male sea lion. By the time the SeaWorld workers arrived at the scene, the sea lion was in the center median of the highway.
Using three large nets, the workers managed to trap the animal and put it in a cage so it could be transported back to SeaWorld.
This isn't the first time that SeaWorld workers have had to rescue the sea lion.
"This animal has been in our rescue facility before," said Eric Otjen with the SeaWorld rescue team. "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. This is the weirdest, though."
SeaWorld said they will keep the sea lion for observation and testing before deciding if it should remain in captivity or be released back into the wild.