Irving the Baby Sea Lion Is Rescued From San Francisco Streets

Early Thursday morning, San Francisco park rangers found an unexpected visitor on the streets of the Outer Sunset.

A 10-month-old California sea lion pup had wandered onto the corner of 48th Avenue and Irving Street after an unusual overnight adventure.

“It’s likely that this young sea lion came ashore at Ocean Beach,” said Giancarlo Rulli, a spokesperson for the Marine Mammal Center, which aided in his rescue. “We’re not 100% certain why it would have made its way up a stairwell, crossing the Great Highway and then ending up just an avenue or two down.”

Recreation and Park Department rangers, San Francisco police and a Marine Mammal Center volunteer worked together to corral the pup — now named Irving —  into a carrier crate and transfer him to a nearby ranger station for the night. Rulli said he was taken up to the Marine Mammal Center’s hospital in Sausalito on Thursday for further medical examination.

The young pup had likely just begun foraging on his own, Rulli said, since most spend the first six to nine months of their lives staying close to their mothers before becoming independent.

“Young California sea lions, especially in their first year or first months, in this case, of foraging on their own … have really have quite kind of an uphill challenge to try and find food sources,” he said. “It’s not necessarily uncommon to see younger malnourished sea lion pups that haven’t taken to developing these important skills out in the open ocean to wind up in areas that would seem out of habitat.”

Irving is about 40 pounds — half of the normal weight of a pup his age, according to Rulli. On Friday, the Marine Mammal Center conducted an admission exam, and was waiting on further blood testing to determine if he has any underlying ailments.

If his temperament is any indication, though, Rulli said Irving looked pretty good.

“During [his] exams, this young sea lion was very active and quite feisty,” Rulli said. “Which, in terms of positive initial signs, is generally something that we’re looking for.”

Rulli said Irving is still early in the rehabilitation process and is still being tube-fed. No long-term plan for his release has been set yet, but usually malnourished pups remain at the Marine Mammal Center for six to ten weeks, he said.