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Seal Pup Expected To Fully Recover After Abduction, RV Chase On Carmel Coast

CARMEL (CBS SF) -- A young seal pup is expected to make a full recovery after some heroics on the part of wildlife workers who rescued her from the back of an RV speeding up the California coast.

Marina Nichols and Zee Zaballos, Volunteer Crew Supervisors at the Marine Mammal Center's Monterey Bay facility, got a call on April 4th that a harbor seal had been pulled off the beach by tourists and was being driven north on Highway 1. The duo wasted no time and hoped in Nichols' BMW to stop the crime, according to the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito.

"I just hoped we would get there in time," Marina recalled thinking. "I knew we had just this one shot and that if we lost track of them, we'd never be able to save this seal."

Mariana drove and Zaballos contacted authorities and then was able to reach the RV driver by phone. The driver agreed to pull over at a shopping center where Nichols blocked in their car and demanded to see the animal.

They say they found the pup, with umbilical cord still attached, hidden under a pile of dirty clothes and blankets in a laundry basket. They took him into the BMW – for which Beemer Cruise is now named – and got her help at the center.

It was not clear whether the RV occupants would face any charges or fines for taking the seal pup.

Beemer Cruise is now being taught how to catch fish on her own so that she can return to the wild and survive.

Form more info on her case or to contribute to her care, check out the Marine Mammal Center website.

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