Lost Seal Pup, Found In Peninsula Parking Lot, Returned To Ocean

REDWOOD CITY, CA — Santos, the seal pup saved by the Redwood City Fire Department last month after wandering into a parking garage, has returned home to the ocean. The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito spent two weeks caring for the roughly six-month-old pup and released him Thursday afternoon at Chimney Rock in Point Reyes National Seashore.

The pup was discovered by a person walking their dog on the morning of Nov. 24. Redwood City Fire guessed the seal may have wandered into the garage from a nearby creek that leads to the bay. A fire crew member with ranching experience carefully lassoed the seal, and the team led him onto a tarp and back to the station.

Santos was named after a crew member who helped rescue him.

Why Santos wandered ashore that day is a mystery, said Emily Trumbull, an intern veterinarian at the Marine Mammal Center, in a press release. Northern fur seals gather food in the open ocean and he was in decent bodily condition, she said.

"The animal's bloodwork showed no abnormalities during its initial exam or subsequent diagnostic tests so it's likely that Santos made a wrong turn during his first year foraging on his own," Trumbull said.

Santos showed promising signs early on during his stay at the Center. He was feisty and energetic — characteristics of northern fur seals — and his attitude continued to improve with treatment, according tot he Center. Santos quickly moved to eating herring after being tube-fed a fish formula for weight gain and hydration.

Santos was released alongside five other northern seal pups, a California sea lion and a threatened Guadalupe fur seal.

As soon as Marine Mammal Center staff freed Santos from the crate he was transported in, the pup caught a glimpse of the shoreline. Santos took off without a moment's hesitation and headed straight for the water, never looking back.