Overview
- The large elephant seal appeared on a roadway near the Isla Santiago bridge Tuesday, stopping traffic and drawing several viral videos from local residents.
- Rescuers waited to see if the animal would leave on its own and then mounted a prolonged containment operation that used a corral, a ramped transport trailer and a red light to encourage voluntary boarding.
- After roughly 10 hours on site and a six‑hour transport, teams from provincial Fauna, guardaparques and Fundación Temaikén released the seal at Punta Rasa and reported it in good condition with no visible injuries.
- Teams identified the animal as a male subadult weighing about 1.5–2 tonnes and emphasized public safety guidance to keep distance to avoid harm to people or stress to the animal.
- Authorities said pinnipeds sometimes move into Río de la Plata channels such as Canal Santiago and noted the rescue was handled through the province’s Red de Varamientos, a coordination network that matters for conservation after heavy losses from a 2023 avian influenza outbreak.