Malnourished sea lion found hidden under car in San Francisco

CALIFORNIA -- This adorable sea lion pup was rescued after he escaped the ocean and was found exploring the streets of San Francisco earlier this week.

The young sea lion, which was named ‘Rubbish’ by animal shelter volunteers, was found hiding underneath a car in the Marina District of San Francisco on Thursday evening.

Poor little guy!

 

After police and animal rescue crews were called to the scene, the plucky mammal was reluctantly coaxed from the vehicle, with amazed passers-by filming the dramatic rescue.

But it isn’t the first time that the sea lion pup ventured away from the ocean, with reports suggesting that Rubbish was found washed up on the shore earlier this year, suffering from pneumonia and severe malnourishment.

Looking much better, he'll soon be released back to the wild

This time around, he was released back into the wild after a big feed resulted in him gaining a healthy 17 pounds.





He’ll now be kept under observation by volunteers, but environmentalists have warned that his plight is part of a bigger problem – with hundreds of abandoned sea lion pups washing up on the Californian shores this year due to diminishing food sources.

(Metro - May 2, 2015)