Sea Lion Rescued At Bay Area School

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A sea lion that seems to be making a habit of stranding itself on dry land is being cared for at an animal rescue center after being rescued for the third time this year.

Crews from the Marine Mammal Center were called out Saturday afternoon after the 170-pound sea lion was found wandering near an elementary school in the Contra Costa County community of Knightsen.

Jim Oswald, a spokesman for the center says the 5-year-old female sea lion was about two miles away from the closest source of water when it was rescued.

Oswald says the sea lion was previously rescued in May, then again in June, in Santa Cruz County.

While it's being cared for, Oswald says the animal will undergo testing to see if it's suffering from domoic acid poisoning, an illness caused when sea lions eat fish that have consumed toxic algae.

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