Daily Breeze photo of the sea lion, rehabilitated and released on Sept. 6.
It was homecoming day Thursday for a sea lion that was found ailing and wandering the streets of Terminal Island earlier this summer.
Rocking his wheeled crate as it sat confined on the rocky shore of White Point/Royal Palms Beach, the some 250-pound sea lion wasted no time charging toward the breaking surf, barking all the way to the water’s edge before plunging in.
Within minutes, he was out into the waves, porpoising and diving for fish.
Longshoreman Carlos Gutierrez, 52, had just gotten off work when he spotted the animal that appeared disoriented and was in danger being so close to traffic.
He called for help and Peter Wallerstein, who has made a 30-plus year career out of rescuing stranded and distressed marine life along the Southern California coast, arrived.