An absurdly lost California sea lion startled commuters on Vancouver Island Sunday before eventually slipping away into the waters of a nearby lake.
The roughly 350-pound adult male spent several hours lolling on the tarmac of Hwy. 4, the Pacific Rim link between Ucluelet and Tofino and the rest of Vancouver Island.
“I’m sure my reaction was the same as everyone’s. Confused but also not surprised, it is the coast after all,” Tofino resident Spencer, who asked that his last name not be published, told Black Press Media.
Spencer said he was close to the end of Kennedy Lake nearing the West Coast junction on his way home when he noticed oncoming vehicles flashing their headlights at him. He turned the corner carefully, not expecting a sea lion to be the cause of the caution.
“In the summer months it’s common to see pinnipeds in the Kennedy Lake area. Sometimes basking on the rocks nearby,” he said, before adding that seeing a marine mammal on the highway is “very unusual."
“West coast wonders always bring curiosity out of the community. I’m hoping for a safe return to his home land for this young sea dog.”
Paul Cottrell, a marine mammal rescue coordinator with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, said the sea lion was first reported around 6 a.m. Sunday and spent several hours on the highway, but waddled back into Kennedy Lake before a rescue team could arrive to transport it to the ocean.
“While they were en route, the sea lion decided he’d had enough of the highway and made a beeline for the lake,” Cottrell said. “We’re hoping that he finds his way out Kennedy River there and gets back to the ocean.”
He said DFO believes the sea lion found its way to the Kennedy Lake boat launch and propelled itself roughly half-a-kilometre to the highway from there.
“He was moving around trying to find his way to the ocean, but unfortunately he was going the wrong way” Cottrell said. “This particular situation so far from the ocean is really bizarre. It’s a unique and odd situation.”
He added the sea lion looked to be underfed and that while harbour seals spend time in freshwater lakes, there is likely not enough fish for a sea lion to thrive long-term.
“We’re hoping this poor guy does find his way to the ocean. Kennedy Lake is big and there are fish in it so, for the short term, it’s probably OK; but not for the long-term for sure,” he said. “He doesn’t look great, so hopefully he does find his way out of the lake.”
He said the first people to report the animal said they initially mistook it for a bear, a much more common sight on local roadways.
“They stopped and it was dark because it’s early in the morning and then they realized, ‘Holy Smokes, it’s a sea lion,’ so they called us immediately which was awesome and we were able to work with the RCMP to get someone out there,” he said.
He added a Parks Warden joined local police to alert drivers of the sea lion’s presence.
“They were able to make sure folks that were driving by were aware and that it was safe for the animal and the vehicles,” he said.
DFO is monitoring the situation and is ready to respond and take the sea lion to the ocean if it shows up again.
“We will look to corral him into a live transport crate and move him to the ocean that way, but ideally he finds his own way back to the ocean,” he said. “We’ve got a plan with the (Vancouver) Aquarium if he is seen again to get a team up there really quick and dart him and get him back to the ocean with a live transport cage, but we are hoping that he finds his way out himself. That would be the best.”
Social media posts on Thursday night suggested the sea lion had returned to the boat launch area and the Westerly will update this story as soon as new information comes in.
Anyone who spots the sea lion, or any marine mammal in distress is urged to report their sighting to DFO’s 24-hour hotline at 1-800-465-4336.
Cottrell said that while marine mammals commuting on roadways is rare, DFO has responded to several across the province.
“It’s not all that common but it’s unfortunately happened a few times in the last decade,” he said. “It’s usually when they’re going up a creek or a river likely following fish and then they get disoriented when they’re way up there and lose their way.”
He noted a sea lion found its way into the front yard of a Sunshine Coast residence where it was darted and transported roughly five kilometres to the ocean and also referenced a harbour seal that wound up on Hwy. 99 in South Surrey where it was struck and killed by a vehicle.
