@ossobuco,
Yikes, more on this story - the sea lion had been shot.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/03/BA6K1LCUT6.DTL&tsp=1
Sea lion that crossed highway 101 had been shot
Carolyn Jones, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, October 3, 2011
An intrepid sea lion that flopped across eight lanes of traffic on Highway 101 in Burlingame Saturday was suffering from a gunshot wound, officials at the Marine Mammal Center said Monday.
The sea lion, dubbed Broadway Bound because she exited at Broadway before being apprehended by rescuers, is in stable condition although veterinarians don't yet know if she'll recover, center spokesman Jim Oswald said.
Veterinarians discovered the gunshot wound in her jaw Monday when giving Broadway Bound a physical exam and x-rays, in an effort to learn the source of the sea lion's disorientation.
The gunshot wound was at least a week old, Oswald said.
Fishermen, sea lions' primary competition for fish, illegally shoot fire at sea lions to keep them away from nets. In 2010, the Marine Mammal Center admitted nine sea lions suffering gunshot wounds. In 2011, the center has seen at least one other, King Neptune, who was rescued off the Santa Cruz Wharf in August and died of his injuries, Oswald said.
The gunshot wound is not necessarily the reason Broadway Bound decided to cross the road, Oswald said. She might have been suffering brain seizures from eating fish sickened by toxic algae, a condition common among sea lions, he said. Veterinarians are awaiting her test results.
Broadway Bound's adventure with rescuers began around 7 a.m. Saturday, when she hoisted herself out of San Francisco Bay and hauled herself across the freeway, apparently bound for downtown Burlingame. Motorists alerted Burlingame police, who waited with the fast-moving sea lion until staff from the Marine Mammal Center could bring her to the Sausalito center for treatment.
She's currently sharing a pen with two other sea lions and appears fatigued but generally OK, Oswald said.
