Hungry Sea Lion Pup Makes Her Way Into Fancy Restaurant
SAN DIEGO (CBS/AP) — A starving sea lion has been rescued after finding its way into the booth of a fancy San Diego restaurant.
The pup was discovered on Thursday by Bernard Guillas, executive chef at The Marine Room, an oceanfront restaurant in La Jolla. "He was a little bit early for his high tide breakfast reservation," Guillas joked on Facebook.
I found a new friend in the The Marine Room restaurant this morning ????????????she was a little bit early for High Tide Breakfast ????
Posted by Bernard Guillas on Thursday, February 4, 2016
Experts at SeaWorld were called promptly called to the restaurant and found the 8-month-old female pup asleep in a dining booth.
WATCH: Malnourished #SeaLion pup rescued after finding her way into restaurant. https://t.co/ct4PZtJPYZhttps://t.co/uy1vRCyPyv
— SeaWorld (@SeaWorld) February 6, 2016
The pup was severely underweight and dehydrated and was taken to SeaWorld's Animal Rescue Center, where experts are cautiously optimistic about her recovery.
There's been a surge in sea lion mortality over the past year, with marine biologists collecting thousands of sick, starving, stranded or dead pups. So far this year, SeaWorld has rescued 47 sea lions and other marine mammals.
Scientists say the animals' food supply has been affected by higher-than-normal ocean temperatures linked to El Nino.
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