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.

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.

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.