Sluggish sea lion spotted at Aquatic Park

The Marine Mammal Center is keeping an eye on a lethargic California sea lion Monday afternoon in the waters near San Francisco’s Aquatic Park.

The center, which is based in the Marin Headlands, sent a responder out to monitor the situation after it was called in by a member of the public around 9:30 a.m.

In addition to behaving in a lethargic fashion, the animal is also suffering from some sort of visible superficial injuries, according to center spokesman Giancarlo Rulli.

The animal has been coming ashore in an inaccessible location near Hyde Pier and then swimming back out to sea for the last four hours or so, Rulli said.

The volunteer on-site has lost visual contact with the animal, but they’ve dispatched a veterinarian and other responders to assess whether it’s necessary to rescue the sea lion when and if it reappears.

“That’s a call that our trained responders make once they assess the situation, if it’s a safe location to perform a rescue and the team has the ability to do so,” Rulli said.

He called today’s events a great example of assistance from the public, thanking the person who first reported the injured mammal using the center’s hotline at (415) 289-7325.