OAKLAND (KRON) -- A sea lion is now getting checked out at the Marine Mammal Center after leaving the Oakland Estuary and wandering onto the Nimitz Freeway during Monday morning's rush hour.

Witnesses spotted the animal in the median of the freeway near the High Street exit and called police.  A number of people reportedly stopped to protect the sea lion from other traffic.

The Oakland police officers say when they pulled up and opened the back door of their squad car, the sea lion hopped right in.  The officers say they then drove the animal to a safe place while they called for experts from the Marine Mammal Center in  Marin County.

KRON 4's Jackie Sissel says things didn't go quite so smoothly when the experts arrived.  The sea lion jumped out of the squad car and hid under the vehicle.  It took about 15 minutes to coax the mammal out from under the car, get it untangled from a net and into an animal crate.

Officials say it appears the sea lion is a yearling without significant injuries.  Experts say warming waters of the bay make it harder for the sea lions to find their usual sources of food and that may be why the animal left the estuary and crossed the freeway.

The Marine Mammal Center will hold onto the sea lion for several weeks to possibly a few months.  They will nourish it back to health and make sure it's ready to survive on its own before releasing it back into the bay.

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