LOS ANGELES – A 300-pound sea lion (search) has been living in a water intake tank at a power plant, dodging rescue attempts since last week, officials said Tuesday.
The male sea lion squeezed through an opening of the tank at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's (search) plant in Playa del Rey and became trapped April 18, said spokeswoman Darlene Battle.
"He's pretty comfortable" and able to feed on shrimp and fish in the tank, she said. "I was talking to the plant manager who says he's ... not anxious to leave."
Water in the 60-foot by 30-foot tank is used to cool the plant's generators.
Battle said DWP enlisted the help of the Whale Rescue Team (search), a nonprofit marine animal group. Team members lowered a boat containing a cargo net into the tank, but the sea lion has avoided the net that crews hoped to use to lift the animal.
Television images from KABC-TV showed the mammal lying peacefully on the boat — just inches from the net.
"He's on the boat but he won't get on the net. What we're waiting for now is for him to roll on the cargo net so we can get him out to sea," Battle said.
DWP provides water and electricity to about 3.8 million residents and businesses in Los Angeles.
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