SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA — A sea lion found alongside U.S. Highway 101 that hopped into a California Highway Patrol car is resting comfortably at the Marine Mammal Center in Marin County Wednesday following its ordeal with the civilized world.

CHP Officer Roger Pereira responded to the call Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. of “a sea lion in distress” that found its way next to the busy highway’s northbound side at the South San Francisco exit known to be close to the water channels. When the officer arrived, he discovered a group of motorists “corralling” the pinniped to ensure it didn’t hop into traffic, he told Patch.

Pereira plotted his next move, wondering if he would be forced to pick up the mammal. No problem.

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“I opened the back door, and he hopped right in,” Pereira said, although he’s not sure of the little sea lion’s gender.

Pereira surmised that maybe it just needed a ride.

The officer proceeded to call the Marine Mammal Center but dropped it off at the SPCA on the Peninsula for safe keeping since the San Mateo County facility was located less than a three-minute drive away “in case it needed any kind of immediate care.”

At first glance, it appeared not to be injured — a condition the Marine Mammal Center confirmed with Patch at Wednesday midday. The center ended up picking up the sea lion Tuesday afternoon.

From that point forward, Pereira had quite a story to tell — one that splashed across the San Francisco Bay Area airwaves. His wife called him to talk about the unusual call before he even got home, he said.

“The weirdest call I’ve had was a duck (that needed rescuing,)” he said.

The funny thing was about this call: He expected the sea lion to bark at him, “but it didn’t” — something that surprised Pereira. (Of course, maybe it knew a passenger in back of a patrol car shouldn’t bark at a law enforcement officer.)

The Sausalito center performed an examination on the mammal Wednesday to determine its gender, age and overall condition.

Veterinarians discovered he has a little malnutrition and a minor cut to the left hind flipper, which is pending further blood sample analysis. The 30-pound sea lion is currently being offered sustainably caught herring to try and induce normal foraging behavior. Based on the animal’s activity and alertness, veterinarians decided Wednesday to move Kid from his temporary Intensive Care Quarantine pen to a standard rehabilitation pool pen to continue his treatment.

He’ll be in the pool with his peers.

“They learn from each other, so hopefully this will stir up his normal foraging behavior,” Giancarlo Rulli told Patch.

The center has suggested the pup was separated from his mother too early.

“Kid likely separated from his mother early and wasn’t quite ready to forage appropriately on his own,” Dr. Cara Field staff veterinarian at The Marine Mammal Center said. “Although a bit malnourished, this sea lion pup is very active and feisty so we’re hopeful with immediate supportive care that he makes a full recovery.”

The veterinary team also was able to identify the previous flipper tag on the animal from a fellow California stranding network facility based in southern California.

The center reminds the public to enjoy all marine mammals from a safe distance and call the center’s 24-hour rescue hotline at 415-289-SEAL if a problem is suspect is suspected. One may learn more about the Marine Mammal Center’s rescue and rehabilitation efforts by visiting its website at marinemammalcenter.org.

Kid can be found socializing at the center here.