It was a full-circle moment for one small sea lion who was found wandering the streets of Coronado on Thanksgiving Day and gained notoriety after a video of her reluctance to exit her crate circled social media.
After weeks of rehabilitation, the sea lion affectionately named "Gobble" for the holiday she was discovered on was returned to the ocean by SeaWorld San Diego's rescue team, although once again it took a bit of coaxing to get her to leave her crate.
Gobble was in bad shape when she was found by Coronado police officers near SR-75 at Leyte Road. Officers Debbie Stiesmeyer and Lexi Rude used a dog crate to capture her and tried to return her to the ocean, but Gobble wasn't having it.
"We walked her down to the water, and when we got down there, she did not want to get out of the crate," officer Stiesmeyer said. "So we had to kind of dump her out of the crate and assist her out. She put her little nose in the sand, and the water and looked back at the crate, and she went right back for the crate and got in it.”
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The Coronado police officers knew then it was time to call in SeaWorld Rescue. The rescue team arrived and could see she was dehydrated and emaciated, weighing about half of a typical sea lion that age, a spokesperson for SeaWorld Rescue said. She was likely wandering after being away from her mother for an extended period of time.
After days of rehabilitation and liquid food, the pup was eating her first bits of squid and fish, a good sign that shows she has an appetite, the spokesperson said. Now six months old, Gobble was plump -- double her original weight -- and had better social and eating habits. She was finally strong enough to return to her natural habitat.
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Gobble was joined by three other sea lions that were found lethargic and hungry.
"They are wild animals, they’re not trained animals," said SeaWorld San Diego Rescue Team supervisor Jenni Smith. "We just needed them to focus on the big blue is right over here. As soon as they saw that, they all went as a group and just started diving into the waves."
Stiesmeyer and her partner officer Lexi Rude were invited to be a part of Gobble's return to the ocean.
"We both kinda thought, 'Oh, you know, another call for service, glad the little guy or girl gets help.' And that’s the end of it. And I’m glad it kinda came full circle and they included us in this event,” Rude said.
If the public sees an animal out of place, they should call local authorities or the SeaWorld Rescue Team at 1-800-541-SEAL (7325) to report an animal in distress.
