Wayward and emaciated fur seal pup turns up in Hayward

A northern fur seal pup turned up at the front door of a Hayward ironworks shop Wednesday morning, the latest example of how warm ocean waters and a lack of food are wreaking havoc on a range of marine mammals.

While there was some speculation that the pup had waddled out of the bay and across Interstate 880, it’s more likely that he navigated up Alameda Creek, inadvertently ending up in a narrow canal that runs between the BART tracks and Industrial Boulevard in Hayward.

Several Glazier workers arrived at 5:45 to clock in, only to find a furry interloper camped out in some shrubbery in front of the entrance.

“I showed up to work and a co-worker said ‘do I have to start right now? I have to call the police about this baby seal in the bushes,’” said Matt Van Valkenburg.

Like the California sea lions and Guadalupe fur seals, starving northern fur seal pups have been stranding in record numbers over the past year.

In an incident report on the department website, Hayward police admitted that officers were skeptical when they got a call about the seal.

Marine Mammal Center officials say northern fur seal pups that have been rescued in increasing numbers were born in June on the Channel Islands, where they typically spend about four months nursing with their mothers before taking off on their own to live mostly swimming in the open ocean or on offshore islands.