Sea lion blocks road in Washington state

GRAYS HARBOR COUNTY, Wash. (CBS, KYMA) - Motorists encountered an unexpected obstacle on a rural road in western Washington, a large sea lion loitering in one of the two lanes, during a heavy downpour last week.

The Cosmopolis Police Department (CPD) said the blubbery marine mammal was found on Blue Slough Road, close to the Chehalis River in Grays Harbor County, which was under a coastal flood warning at the time.

Pictures show the sea lion with its head turned upward, with raindrops falling across its face, seemingly untroubled by its situation.

CPD advised drivers to "use caution," warning that a "large friend" was "hanging out in the roadway."

"This wasn't on my bingo card for 2025, how about you?" it wrote in a Facebook post.

Staff from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration responded and ushered the sea lion back to the river, according to the Seattle Times.

On Friday, after its Facebook photos of the seal lion began going viral, CPD had some fun and changed its profile photo to a photoshopped image of the sea lion wearing a police officer’s uniform.