‘Road warrior’ sea lion believed to have found its way back to ocean
An off-track sea lion sighted on a north Island road is believed to have found its way back to the ocean.
It appears the animal found its way first to the nearby San Josef River, then followed the waterway back to marine waters.
“There’s been no more sightings of our road warrior, [as] we were calling him,” said Paul Cottrell, marine mammal co-ordinator for Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s Pacific region.
Local residents spotted the disoriented animal earlier this month making its way along Holberg Road on the northwest side of Vancouver Island. At one point, the Steller sea lion was about six kilometres from the ocean.
But later in the day, it was spotted about 300 to 500 metres from the San Josef River. That’s where Cottrell figures the animal returned to the water, likely after hearing the sound of the river.
Sometimes sea lions head up creeks and rivers after fish. In this case, the sea lion ended up on the road.
Greg Clarke saw the sea lion first and notified Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the body with responsibility for marine mammals.
Clarke also contacted the federal department, concerned about the animal being so far from the ocean.
Clarke had heard about the sea lion on his way to work, where he monitors the radar station at the old military post on northwest Vancouver Island.
“He got scared off the road and actually sat up in the woods in the power lines.”
Six hours later on Clarke’s way home, the sea lion had returned to the road having travelled about three-quarters of a kilometre since that morning. Scuff marks in the gravel showed where the animal had been.
“So what he was doing — he would travel a fair ways on the road and then he would go down in the ditch where there was some water and he would play in the water for a little while, swim along a little bit and then come back on the road again,” Clarke said.
“And he would the cross the road and find more water. So basically he was going back and forth across the road.”
The sea lion did not seem pleased to see a vehicle, Clarke said. “As I was coming back from work, I actually drove past him and he kind of charged my truck a couple of times.”
There was no sign of the sea lion later that and Cottrell said it is likely the animal returned to the ocean.
Anyone concerned about a marine mammal can call the B.C. marine mammal response network at 1-800-465-4336. Or email DFO.ORR-ONS.MPO@dfompo.gc.ca or go to VHF radio, channel 16.
This isn’t the first time that a big sea lion has gone astray.
An adult California sea lion, nicknamed James Pond, hauled up on a deck in the Sunshine Coast in 2019, also likely arriving via a creek. Marine mammal staffers tranquillized him to return him to the ocean.