Yesterday morning employees at the Marine Room, a restaurant in La Jolla, found a tiny trespasser curled up in one of the restaurant's booths: an 8-month-old female California sea lion pup.
Yesterday this Sea Lion was taking a nap in a La Jolla restaurant https://t.co/4oLJZIMXhE pic.twitter.com/FLmJ7YxpOT
— PostalAnnexMValley (@PostalAnnexMV) February 5, 2016
A SeaWorld rescue team was called in to scoop up the sickly pup, who was malnourished, dehydrated and had a swollen left eye. At just 20 pounds, half the normal weight for her age, she's considered a "micro pup," which would be adorable if it wasn't so sad. But there's hope! According to a story in the LA Times yesterday, rescuers are "cautiously optimistic" that she'll recover fully and be returned to the wild.
Apparently, all that El Niño weather we've been going on about has warmed local waters, diminishing the sea lions' food supply. In San Diego alone, The Times reports there have been 40 stranded sea lions rescued so far this year.
For a dose of levity, we assume, the Times also spoke to Marine Room manager Matt Caponi, who had dad jokes at the ready: "Maybe she thought we were open for high tide breakfast," he quipped, "but we weren't." Zing!