Giant seal tries to cross highway, causes large traffic jam

Tuesday, December 29, 2015, 3:32 PM - Why did the seal cross the road? We don't know but when it did, it caused a doozy of a traffic jam.

On Monday wildlife experts teamed up with police officers to keep a 500-pound elephant seal off Highway 37 in Sonoma, California, the Associated Press reports.

After receiving several calls about a seal trying to climb the divider wall onto the highway, U.S. Fish and Wildlife officers were able to get the adult mammal back into the San Francisco Bay -- but not before traffic had come to a standstill.

There was a report on Twitter that the seal tried to attack a vehicle, but that hasn't been confirmed by officials at the scene.

Once in the water, the seal turned around and made its way back to land, twice.

"Every time we got her in the water, she circled back and tried to climb out again," California Highway Patrol spokesman Officer Andrew Barclay told the Associated Press (AP).

When she was brought back to the water the second time the tide had lowered, decreasing her chances of making it to land again.

Officials stayed at the scene overnight to make sure the determined seal didn't return.

Marine Mammal Center spokeswoman Laura Sherr told AP the animal didn't appear to be injured or sick and likely got confused after swimming up a waterway she wasn't used to.

Source: Associated Press | Photos courtesy of Emma Chait