Recovered Sea Lions Returned To Wild In Marin

SAUSALITO (CBS 5/BCN) - Three California sea lions headed "home for the holidays" when they were released from the Sausalito-based Marine Mammal Center Thursday and allowed to return to the wild, a center spokesman said.

KCBS' Bob Melrose Reports:

The sea lions, all young males, have recovered from various maladies and were released at Rodeo Beach, located in the Marin Headlands just west of the Golden Gate Bridge, center spokesman Jim Oswald said.

Second Street, an animal rescued from Old Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey, had received treatment at the center for trauma to his flipper.

Taylors Day, rescued from Seacliff State Beach in Santa Cruz County, may have been suffering from leptospirosis, a bacterial infection. He had been named after a young girl who was celebrating her birthday on the beach on the day of the rescue.

Dobby, the third sea lion released, was rescued from Fitzgerald Marine Reserve in Monterey County. He had suffered from malnutrition and was very weak, according to the center.

The animals were loaded into rescue carriers at the center Thursday morning and taken to the beach, which is located just a couple of minutes away, Oswald said.

Second Street, Taylors Day and Dobby are three of more than 970 animals that have been admitted to the center so far this year.

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