HAYWARD (KRON) – A curious baby seal somehow managed to waddle out of the San Francisco Bay, cross a congested East Bay highway, and hide in some bushes in Hayward.
According to police, the northern fur seal pup was discovered at about 6 a.m. Wednesday in the shrubs at a business park located at 650 Sandoval Way.
“This morning a little before 6 AM, someone called from Sandoval Way to report a baby seal flopping around in the bushes at a business,” police said. “We were thinking it was probably a possum or weird cat but the caller insisted it was a seal. Well lo and behold it was a seal!”
Hayward police posted an image of the small creature on the department’s Facebook page.
The pup was found dehydrated and malnourished, police said.
Marine Mammal Center spokeswoman Laura Sherr told KRON that the center was called to the scene and realized that the animal was recently rescued.
“Once rescued, our team discovered that this animal already had an ID tag, and were able to identify him as a male northern fur seal pup called ‘Pipester’ who had previously been in the Center’s care for malnutrition,” Sherr said.
“He was originally rescued on November 7, 2015, at Moss Landing Harbor by volunteers with the Center’s Monterey Bay Operations,” according to Sherr. Pipester spent a few weeks at the Center recovering before being released late in December of 2015.
Sherr hopes to nourish and send back Pipster back into the wild as soon as possible.