Sausalito -- A spirited California sea lion who won public adoration after crossing Highway 101 was euthanized Wednesday, due in part to brain damage caused by a gunshot wound, Marine Mammal Center staff said.

The sea lion, named Broadway Bound because rescuers found her at the Broadway exit in Burlingame, had not eaten and was restless and disoriented since she arrived at the center Saturday, spokesman Jim Oswald said.

She was attempting to climb the fence around her enclosure and did not respond to people, even those bearing herring, he said.

"She was just not acting like a normal sea lion," he said.

Veterinarians determined she had a chronic brain impairment and could not be released back to the bay or learn to live at a zoo or aquarium, so they euthanized her, Oswald said.

During the necropsy, veterinarians removed a bullet fragment from the left side of her brain, which they sent to the National Marine Fisheries Service for investigation. The 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act prohibits attacks on marine life, including sea lions.

Broadway Bound was the sixth sea lion to arrive at the Marine Mammal Center this year suffering from a gunshot wound. All six have died of their injuries. Most of the suspects are fishermen attempting to keep hungry sea lions away from their nets.

"People are stunned when they hear about this. After all, who would shoot a sea lion?" Oswald said. "But shooting sea lions is a crime, and people should be outraged."

In addition to the bullet wound, Broadway Bound was suffering from seizures caused by eating fish poisoned by toxic algae, Oswald said.