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Sea lion pup rescued along Ocean Beach Pier

A baby sea lion caused a lot of worry when it swam out of the ocean and wandered hundreds of feet into the streets of Ocean Beach Friday.

SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - A baby sea lion caused a lot of worry when it swam out of the ocean and wandered hundreds of feet into the streets of Ocean Beach Friday. 

Witnesses called 911 as a sea lion in distress, trying to maneuver in the dark, wobbled past a sea wall and through a parking lot at the 5000 block of Newport Avenue. Witnesses tried to help out, but police worried it could possibly bite. 

The 9-month-old pup hid under an SUV around 1:30 a.m. 

It kept moving down the street into a south alley near Newport Avenue. Police officers tried to keep it in one spot with a lattice fence and twist ties. 

It's illegal to touch a marine mammal, so they waited until a SeaWorld rescue team arrived. 

"We'll take him and give him a little bit of fish and stuff and get him nice and fat and chubby and he'll go back out into the ocean," Eric Otjen, SeaWorld Rescue Team said.

SeaWorld says it is dehydrated and emaciated because it couldn't find enough food in the ocean. They managed to get the baby sea lion in a crate. 

With high surf and powerful waves, experts say this will happen more often. They've made two pup rescues in the last 18 hours. 

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