LAGUNA BEACH : Sea Lions Make Rapid Recovery

A night in captivity seemed to be just the medicine for four ailing baby sea lions who were rescued on the tip of the Balboa Peninsula.

Hours after their rescue from a rock jetty Wednesday, two of the pups “staged a daring escape” from their cage and rummaged through the darkened halls of the Laguna Beach-based Friends of Sea Lion Marine Center sometime early Thursday, director Judi Jones said.

Their accomplices were six other sea lion pups, which had been rescued earlier in the month.

“They had a very busy night,” Jones said as workers cleaned up the mess created when the eight curious pups managed to wreak havoc throughout the Laguna Canyon Road facility.

The prank was the best indicator that treatment procedures on Wednesday had already improved the health of the four pups, who were suffering from pneumonia and malnutrition.

They were found stranded at the Wedge, a popular beach at the tip of the peninsula. Three of the pups were discovered sitting helpless on the rocks of the Newport Harbor jetty. The fourth was found lying on the sand nearby.

All of them were in a semi-comatose state when marine center volunteers netted them and took them back to Laguna Beach.

“They are all doing good,” Jones said Thursday morning. “They are going to make it.”

The pups have now been given names: Ronnie, for the Huntington Beach fisherman who helped rescue them; Squidly, because someone at the scene wore a T-shirt with a picture of the tentacled sea creature; and Sherlock and Holmes, who were found at the end of the half-mile-long rock jetty. The latter two were so named because it’s a mystery how rescue workers were able to get them back across the treacherous jetty safely, Jones said.

The main concern was for Holmes, who was picked up at the edge of the jetty and was so exhausted that he could barely move on Wednesday.

After being taken to the center, all four animals were force-fed water and vitamins, given injections of glucose and saline solution to speed their recovery and put to bed, Jones said.

Ronnie and Squidly, found closest to shore, were put in a large cage with the six other pups Wednesday night.

How the pups escaped remains a mystery.

When workers opened the center in the morning, they were surprised to see all eight pups sleeping soundly on the floor of the gift shop, obviously exhausted from a night of roaming.

“They were all cuddled up and nice and cozy,” Jones said. “Waking them up was like getting a kid out of bed.”

Workers then assessed the damage.

One of the pups had hoisted itself atop the gift shop counter, shoving souvenirs onto the floor. Another had worked its way into the laundry room, dumping a large barrel of soap. The soap flakes spilled across the floor.

In another part of the facility, one of the pups found a closet where the workers’ rubber boots were stored. The boots were scattered about in a hallway. Another pup decided to go for a dip in a small wading pool, tipping the rubber sides and spilling water on the floor.