More than 1,000 malnourished sea lions have been rescued on southern California beaches this year. This is an extremely high number when compared to previous years. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has since declared the high rate of stranded sea lions pups an "unusual mortality event."

While the exact cause of so many emaciated sea lions washing ashore is not known, one of the running theories is that the problem stems from the marine mammal's prey, or lack thereof.

"These sea lions might be our sentinel that tells us something else is going on that's going to be affecting other fish, that's going to be affecting sharks, that could have much broader concerns throughout the ocean," said Sarah Wilkin, a marine biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Although marine biologists are taking this seriously,this phenomena has led to several adorable sightings of these pups while lost on land. One was of a lost sea lion pup in San Diego, Calif., who wasn't stranded for long. After the pup wandered around on Ocean Beach parking lot for about an hour, it managed to waddle its way back to the ocean early Wednesday morning.

According to local outlet ABC 10 News, a pedestrian spotted the stranded sea lion around 5 a.m. on the corner of Abbott Street and Newport Avenue and notified a passing police officer. The young animal returned to the beach before animal services could respond. This escapade was captured on video camera as is shown below.


Another couple of comical episodes happened earlier this year. One was of a pup who had hopped into the front seat of a San Diego man's vehicle when the driver, who believing the animal was a dog, pulled up next to it and stopped in the middle of traffic. In a March incident, a baby sea lion waddled out of the ocean only to find comfort in a La Jolla Hotel patio chair. Both animals were rescued by animal care specialists from SeaWorld.

Enjoy the video below of the sea lion pup who had wondered around the Ocean Beach parking lot.