Elephant seal crossing road causes North Bay traffic mess

Marine Mammal Center volunteers and the California Highway patrol attempt to corral an elephant seal that attempted to cross Highway 37 in Marin. Marine Mammal Center volunteers and the California Highway patrol attempt to corral an elephant seal that attempted to cross Highway 37 in Marin. Image 1 of / 20 Caption Close Elephant seal crossing road causes North Bay traffic mess 1 / 20 Back to Gallery

Wildlife experts and California Highway Patrol officers teamed up for an unusual rescue in the North Bay on Monday afternoon after a truculent elephant seal tried to cross a highway and resisted efforts to direct it back into the water, officials said.

Just after 1 p.m., the CHP got calls reporting that a seal was blocking the slow lane of Highway 37 near Sears Point in Sonoma County, officials said.

A few minutes later a caller told the CHP that the seal was attacking a vehicle, though that report could not be confirmed. At one point, passing motorists stopped to take pictures of the seal, further complicating traffic matters on the busy two-lane highway.

The Marine Mammal Center, based in Sausalito, dispatched a rescue team, as did the San Pablo Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The CHP was also working with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to persuade the seal to swim off to greener pastures.

The pinniped, which CHP Officer Andrew Barclay described as a “very large, very determined elephant seal,” was successfully ushered into the bay at one point. But unconvinced that he was better off there than on land, the animal again attempted to cross the road.

“He’s back in the water now, “ Barclay said later. “But he seems very committed to crossing the roadway. Every time we get him in the water he waits until we walk away and he’s right back up on land.”

The seal, a hefty female adult, weighs up to half a ton, which “complicates the rescue” said Laura Sherr, a spokeswoman for the Marine Mammal Center.

CHP stopped tracking the seal shortly after 7 p.m. because of nightfall.

As of about 5 p.m., the seal had yet to swim away, and officials said the animal, which did not appear to be injured, was circling closer and closer to the freeway. A team of Marine Mammal Center staffers were hiding nearby with a crate at the ready.

Although CHP personnel were planning to leave the scene, Barclay said they would be on standby for the evening. He added that because the tide was getting lower, the seal’s ability to leave the water was decreasing.

Staffers for the center would remain on call throughout the night, and one staff member planned to return early in the morning when the tide changes to check on the situation.

“Normally, we don’t respond at night, but this is one of those rare public-safety situations where we might go out,” Sherr said. “Ideally, the animal will just depart at night on her own.”

Barclay said the seal’s motives for entering the highway in the first place were unclear.

San Francisco Chronicle staff writer Kimberly Veklerov contributed to this story.

Kale Williams is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: kwilliams@sfchronicle.com