SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A sea lion who mysteriously made its way onto a San Diego freeway in early January has been returned back to the ocean after a month of rehabilitation.
The interesting sighting happened on Friday, January 7 around 10 a.m. A woman says she was traveling eastbound on State Route 94 just west of Interstate 805 when she came across the bizarre discovery.
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Thankfully, with the help of two good Samaritans, the lost marine animal was guided safely to the other side of the road until California Highway Patrol arrived.
According to SeaWorld, this sea lion, in particular, has a reputation for wandering to areas that are several miles away from the ocean. In early November 2021, the same sea lion was rescued from Harbor Island Drive and taken to their rescue facility.
SeaWorld says the sea lion was joined by two other sea lions who were rehabilitated at their facility and were ready to go back to the ocean at the same time. The second sea lion was the last one to be rescued in 2021, and the third one was the first rescue of 2022 who had a two-inch stingray barb stuck in its right eye. Experts were able to remove the barb and the sea lion's eye successfully healed over time.
Officials say they place a tag on every animal that is returned to its natural habitat, and because the wandering sea lion keeps appearing in odd places, they decided to add a second tag to easily identify him. The tags provide informational background of where the animal has been and past medical history.
