Crossing sea mammal seals off California highway
An elephant seal repeatedly tried to cross a highway in California from nearby waters on Monday, causing traffic jams in the area for two days.
This followed a stand-off in which wildlife experts used horns and paddles to try to encourage the animal back into the water, BBC reported.
Officials said they have no idea why the seal, nicknamed "Tolay" by the rescue crews after the inlet it showed up in, was so determined to get away from the bay, ABC News reported.
California Highway Patrol officer Andrew Barclay said that motorists stopped to try to help the elephant seal, but "it did not want their help".
He said: "There's no water or food on the other side and we checked all along the freeway for anything she might be looking for. There's nothing."
Rescue crews managed to tranquilise the seal on Tuesday.
Officials plan to take the seal to Point Reyes, where they will release it back into the wild, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
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