Sea lion pup waddles ashore before being found by police and driven back to the water

Pictures have emerged of a sea lion pup getting a personal escort ‘home’ after waddling more than 500m onshore at a Californian beach.

Sea lion arrested, taken ‘home’

PICTURES have emerged of a sea lion pup getting a personal escort “home” after waddling more than 500m onshore at a Californian beach.

Police were called to Fort Bragg, where they spotted the pup moving slowly through fog on Sunday. It was in good condition and had a tag attached to its front flipper, but was clearly lost.

This photo provided by Peter Wallerstein of Marine Mammal Rescue shows a sea lion pup at a MMR facility in the Playa Del Rey area of Los Angeles Sunday, April 19, 2015. It's one of two pups that were found on Dockweiler State Beach just west of Los Angeles International Airport. Witnesses say another pup was abducted from Dockweiler by four people who wrapped the pup in a blanket and left in a car around 3:20 a.m. early Sunday. This pup was found hiding there a short time later. The rescued pup weighs about 25 pounds and is probably 10 months old, said Wallerstein.(Peter Wallerstein/Marine Mammal Rescue via AP)

Mendocino County sheriff’s Captain Greg Van Patten said the sea lion was familiar with human contact, having spent time at a rehabilitation centre in southern California.

“It kept coming up to (officers), rubbing against their legs,” he said.

Police, after contacting the Marine Mammal Center in San Francisco, were told to take it back to the water. So they did.

Officers strapped the 9kg pup into the patrol car and drove it back to the ocean, but not before taking pictures with their new friend.

This April 19, 2015 photo provided by the Mendocino County Sheriff shows Mendocino County Deputy Sergio Chora-Alvarado, left and Deputy Ze Manuel Limaa, pose for a photo with a stranded Sea Lion pup. The rescued the sea lion pup waddled about a quarter-mile from the ocean. Mendocino County sheriff's deputies patrolling Highway 1, south of Fort Bragg, spotted the animal moving slowly in dark, dense fog on Sunday. They discovered the animal was a sea lion pup weighing about 20 pounds with a tag attached to its front flipper (Mendocino County Sheriff via AP)

A spokeswoman for MMC said the sea lion, identified by its tag, was previously emaciated before being rehabilitated and released.

Van Patten said the seal pup was the first such discovery in his 17 years on the job.

Police said on Wednesday the pup was back in the water and staying put.