A gregarious baby sea lion jumped onto a UCLA rowboat, delighting the crew while petting some of the athletes.
But experts revealed that the young sea lion did so for a heartbreaking reason: he was severely malnourished.
Logan Hibbard, a sophomore at UCLA, was out rowing early in the morning at Marina del Ray when the sea lion jumped out of the water onto his boat.
“A sea lion jumped onto the foredeck of one of our boats and swam up to the boat I was on,” Hibbard said. KTVU.
Logan Hibbard, a sophomore at UCLA, was out rowing early in the morning at Marina del Ray when the sea lion jumped out of the water onto his boat.
Experts revealed that the young sea lion did it for a heartbreaking reason: he was severely malnourished.
‘I thought if I stayed calm, it would calm him down more. And so we kind of had an understanding between us,” Hibbard said of his connection to the sea lion.
Despite the surprise, the second-year athlete did not panic.
“Honestly, I tried to be very calm,” she said. ‘It was just a baby sea lion. She was very, very friendly.”
Hibbard continued: ‘I thought if I stayed calm, it would calm him down more. And so, in a way, we had an understanding between us.
While the sea lion was on the boat, Hibbard’s companions rushed to take some photographs.
In the photographs, the sea lion can be seen pressing down on Hibbard on the boat.
In another image, the creature appeared to be drowsy and about to fall asleep.
The sea lion nuzzled Hibbard’s legs, where he soon fell asleep.
The rowers named the animal “Bru.” John Warner, executive director of the Marine Mammal Care Center, said the crew had saved the sea lion’s life by keeping it on the boat.
Inspired by the UCLA Bruins, the team nicknamed the creature ‘Bru.’
At one point during his encounter with ‘Bru’, Hibbard attempted to pet the sea lion.
“He didn’t like it very much,” he observed. “So, I stopped.”
Soon the crew realized that something was wrong with ‘Bru’, who was now resting in Hibbard’s lap.
The trainers wrapped the sea lion in towels and then carried it to shore.
Hibbard and the other paddlers contacted the Marine Mammal Care Center in Los Angeles, where authorities took ‘Bru’ so the creature could recover.
According to the center’s general director, John Warner, who spoke with McClatchy Newsthe baby sea lion was “desperate.”
He explained that he would have curled up against Hibbard for warmth; The cold water had caused hypothermia in his skeletal body.
‘For an animal to climb onto a platform where there are people is not natural. They don’t look for people.
“I want to congratulate the rowers for not pushing him back into the water; that probably would have been a death sentence for the animal,” he continued.
The sea lion pup is likely between nine and 11 months old. He is about the same size as he was at birth.
Warner estimated the age of the sea lion to be between nine and eleven months. He said the animal appeared to be about the same size as it was at birth.
“This is the alarming part of his health,” said the sea lion expert. “It should be about three or four times the size it is now.”
Hibbard said KCBS that he would like ‘Bru’ to be completely rehabilitated.
“I just hope that eventually he can make a full recovery and hopefully get back to where he belongs and continue swimming and practicing with us in Marina Del Rey.”
