A crew from the Marine Mammal Center arrived this afternoon at Pier 39 to rescue a sea lion that had become entangled in a fishing net. The sea lion was loaded onto a carrier and onto a boat which would ferry him/her to the Center, where the net would be cut off.

There's no explanation of where or how the sea lion became entangled, or how officials became aware of the poor thing with the net wrapped around its person.

The Chron notes that other sea lions watched the proceedings as the entangled sea lion welped and bark distress. Also, about 100 tourists were looking on and shooting pictures too.

Update: Turns out it was plastic wrap of some kind that became wrapped around the sea lion's head and neck. The sea lion is now resting comfortably before being returned to the wild. [BCN/Appeal]

[Chron]