Elephant seal crossing the road, causes North Bay traffic mess

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that wildlife experts and law enforcement officials on Monday worked to keep the determined elephant seal off a Sonoma County highway that it has repeatedly tried to cross, snarling traffic in the area.

Around 1 p.m., the California Highway Patrol received calls reporting the seal was blocking the slow lane of Highway 37. Initial efforts by the San Pablo Bay National Marine Sanctuary to get the animal off the road were successful but the seal doggedly tried to cross the highway again so the team had to move her off the road a second time.

With the guidance of researchers at the Marine Mammal Center, they used boards to coral the seal back towards the water.

“This is, I think, the fourth time she’s come out of water and tried to cross the median on Highway 37”, said Barbie Halaska of the Marine Mammal Center.

Using a tarp borrowed from Six Flags, about 15 people dragged her to a lift truck, which was very necessary in getting the half-ton mammal off the ground.

One possibility for the crossing attempts is that she is pregnant and trying to find a place to give birth, but Halaska said there is no way to confirm that short of an ultrasound.

Elephant seals have been breeding on Chimney Rock near Point Reyes for more than 150 years. Her path was taking her away from the bay into the southern Sonoma County hillsides.

“What we’ve seen is she’s obviously still trying to get out of the water”, CHP Officer Andrew Barclay said, according to ABC 7 News. “They’re attempting to herd it back into the water now”.

Experts said she could have gotten confused, or is about to give birth and is trying to reach the dry land on the other side of the road.

The elephant seal did not seem very pleased with the officers.