Injured sea lion eludes rescuers

SACRAMENTO, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- A sea lion with a head injury eluded rescuers in a river in Sacramento, Calif., far from the sea, marine officials said.

The male sea lion had made its way up the Sacramento River to rest this week on a dock in a part of the city known as Old Sacramento. There, passersby noticed it was injured and summoned officials from the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, The Sacramento (Calif.) Bee reported Thursday.

"There's a huge gash, and it looks like there is some oozing coming out, and it just looks terrible. You look at it, and you can't help but just feel sad," Patrick Rubin, a Sacramento River houseboat owner, said.

Marine mammal officials tried to net the animal Wednesday but he slipped into the river and disappeared, center spokesman Jim Oswald said, adding the sea lion may heal on its own.

"Salt water could be really good for the sea lion to heal its wound," Oswald said. "Sea lions out in the ocean get bit by sharks constantly, but they heal. While the wound looks horrible in photographs, it may not be so bad."