Starving sea lion pup rescued on San Francisco boulevard

SAN FRANCISCO -- Crews from the Marine Mammal Center rescued a wayward sea lion pup Wednesday morning in San Francisco's Lake Merced area.

CBS San Francisco reports that the male pup was discovered about 7:10 a.m. while crossing the Great Highway at Highway 35, near Lake Merced, by two Good Samaritans who stopped and used their cars to get him out of traffic.

Alexandra Picavet, the spokeswoman for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, told KCBS that Matt Wallat, a park ranger who was on his way to work when he arrived at the scene.

Dr. Shawn Johnson, the director of Veterinary Science at the Marine Mammal Center, told KCBS that the pup, weighing only 28 pounds, was emaciated but had no visible injuries.

He said that out-of-place sea lions pups have recently become a common occurrence.

"He's just one of the hundred little sea lion pups that we've rescued in the last 10 days. We're having an onslaught of these little pups-they're being pre-weaned and basically abandoned by their mothers and they're just coming ashore and they're extremely emaciated and basically starving to death," Johnson said.

While it's not clear how this morning's pup got onto the roadway-which is a considerable distance from the beach, Johnson said it's not surprising he got so far inland as the sea lions are looking for food.

Johnson said they are giving the pup, who they have named "Percervero," hydration and food and that his chances are survival are good.

"There's a good chance we can get him healthy and get him back out in the ocean in the next few weeks," he said.