He has flippers instead of feet — and certainly no sneakers or hiking boots. But that didn't stop a sea lion from joining schoolchildren on a walkathon.
The marine mammal apparently noticed children doing laps around a course they had set up at the Marin Country Day School next to the shores of the San Francisco Bay, California, USA. The 84kg Steller sea lion waddled ashore, shocking students and teachers.
"He did a whole lap," said Kelly Watson of the private school.
PHOTO: AP
It was the latest brush with humans for the 1-year-old sea lion, called Astro by staffers at the Marin Headlands-based Marine Mammal Center.
Astro's mother abandoned him at Ano Nuevo Island off the San Mateo coast in June, prompting biologists to bottle-feed the pup.
They released the adolescent on April 25 with a radio tag.
But Astro keeps returning to civilization. About a week ago, he swam under the Golden Gate Bridge to the shores of Corte Madera. The Marine Mammal Center again picked him up and released him in the Farallons, 43km from San Francisco.
But returned again on May 11, just in time for the walkathon.
"They are very intuitive, like dogs, and he was able to find his way back," said Marine Mammal Center spokesman Jim Oswald.
Astro's run-ins with humans could pose danger to both species, so the center will try to find him a permanent home, possibly the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut, which keeps threatened Steller sea lions.
"This just shows the effect human contact can have," Oswald said. "It's not a happy story for Astro." (AP)
牠只有鰭狀肢沒有雙腳，當然也不必穿球鞋或登山靴，儘管如此，依舊阻擋不了這頭海獅加入學童健走馬拉松的行列。
美國加州緊鄰舊金山灣的馬林縣完全小學內，一群圍著操場進行健走馬拉松的學童，似乎吸引了這隻海洋哺乳動物的目光。這頭八十四公斤重的史代拉海獅搖搖擺擺地爬上岸，嚇壞了在場所有師生。
任職這所私立學校的凱莉．華特森說：「牠繞著操場爬了一整圈。」
對這隻一歲大的海獅來說，這是牠最近一次與人類的接觸。馬林岬海洋哺乳類動物中心的工作人員替牠取名為艾斯特羅。
去年六月，艾斯特羅被母親遺棄在聖馬提歐海岸外的新年島，生物學家於是利用奶瓶來餵養這個小傢伙。
今年四月二十五日，生物學家在已屆青春期的艾斯特羅身上裝置了一個無線標籤後，將牠野放。
但艾斯特羅不斷重回人類文明懷抱。大約一星期前，牠游過金門大橋下方，來到科特馬德拉岸邊。海洋哺乳類動物中心的工作人員發現後，再一次把牠野放到距舊金山四十三公里遠的費拉隆斯水域。
但是五月十一日這天，牠又回來了，而且剛好趕上健走馬拉松的活動。
海洋哺乳類動物中心發言人吉姆．奧斯沃德說：「牠們跟狗一樣很有靈性，所以牠能找到回來的路。」
艾斯特羅與人類間的「送往迎來」可能對雙方造成危險，因此海洋哺乳類動物中心正試圖為牠找個永久住所，康乃狄克州專門收容瀕臨絕種史代拉海獅的密斯提克水族館可能雀屏中選。
奧斯沃德說：「這正好顯示人類接觸可能帶來的影響。但對艾斯特羅而言，這並不是開心的經歷。」
（美聯社／翻譯：林倩如）
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