A juvenile sea lion from La Jolla Cove is back at SeaWorld San Diego for a second round of rehabilitation after a dramatic rescue that ended in the front yard of a house nearly a mile from the La Jolla coast.
The male pup is thought to have made its way out of The Cove, likely in the nighttime or early morning in late January, and wandered through The Village and across Torrey Pines Road before settling in the yard of a house on Massena Street near La Jolla Country Club. The yard is enclosed by a short stone wall.
Residents Kim Weiss and Alan London were out of town at the time and were awakened by an alert on their home security system at about 7:15 a.m. Jan. 26. They originally thought intruders were at the house, but a gathering in front turned out to be people looking to help the sea lion.
They soon got on a video call with neighbors and learned the pup had been seen scampering in the yard and resting on the porch.
“We thought ‘How is this possible?’” Weiss said. “We have enjoyed seeing the sea lions at The Cove, but we never knew they could be capable of something like this.”
“The initial feeling was surprise and shock,” Weiss added. “We didn’t understand how it arrived there. We also felt like it must have been scared … so there was a feeling of empathy and compassion for this little animal. We wanted it to be tended to.”
London agreed, saying “[We] were incredulous as we watched and listened to the entire scenario play out while in our hotel room.”
A sea lion pup found in the front yard of a home in La Jolla was rescued and taken to SeaWorld San Diego. (Laura Spielman)
Nearby residents called the SeaWorld rescue team and neighbor Laura Spielman, who has experience with animal rescue and assistance through her nonprofit Rosie Project and her work with the San Diego Humane Society emergency response team.
Spielman arrived first and determined “the sea lion wasn’t well,” she said. “I wanted to get him to SeaWorld right away because, to be honest, I thought he was dying.”
Using cardboard as a shield and a dog crate to contain the animal, Spielman was expecting to need to lure the pup into the cage, she said.
But “he jumped right in. I didn’t have to do anything,” she said.
Though members of the SeaWorld rescue team were en route, Spielman took the animal to SeaWorld herself (something SeaWorld doesn’t recommend that most people do). She then handed over the crated pup to the team for assessment and care.
“I just don’t know how it got there [in the yard],” Spielman told the La Jolla Light. “It was just so weird. … I have never seen sea lions in our neighborhood because we are way up the hill. They might walk around other neighborhoods, but not ours. … It just doesn’t make sense.”
Though some theorized that someone took the animal and left it in the Massena Street yard, SeaWorld said it received reports from others in the area that there was a sea lion in the neighborhood. Plus, there were no notifications from the home security system indicating someone had been on the premises during the night.
According to the team at SeaWorld, this particular pup had been rescued earlier this year and returned to La Jolla on Jan. 15. Rescuers said it may have been released back into the wild too soon.
“It has happened before where sea lions wandered into conditions that could be hazardous or out of habitat, but it is not normal,” said Jeni Smith of the rescue team. “It did appear very far from the ocean, and the idea of it crossing Torrey Pines Road was alarming.”
When the animal was returned in January, “he was healthy and hunting,” Smith said. “He had an eye injury but otherwise had a clean bill of health.
“But when we brought it back [this time], it had lost 30% of its weight. We think maybe he became ill or needed more time to learn how to be a sea lion. So we are giving it a second chance.”
The team also tested the sea lion for the potentially deadly neurotoxin domoic acid, which has been found in large algae blooms off the coast the past four years. The pup tested negative, but it might have been exposed to the toxin in utero, Smith said.
Now, Smith said, the pup is gaining weight and competing with other animals at SeaWorld for fish. The team plans to return the sea lion to La Jolla Cove once more.
If you see an animal out of its normal habitat or in need of rescue, SeaWorld recommends calling the rescue team’s round-the-clock hotline at 800-541-SEAL (7325). ♦