SAN DIEGO — "Freeway," the sea lion known for wandering around San Diego, has been euthanized by Sea World after contracting a progressive disease in 2022, according to their Facebook page.
SeaWorld did not name the disease or the cause but said, "Animal care experts discovered he had the progressive disease when he was rescued last year. Despite extensive treatment, the disease caused the sea lion's health to deteriorate over time."
Due to Freeway's decline, the team made an "extremely difficult but compassionate decision to humanely euthanize him."
Freeway made headlines in January last year when he wandered onto Highway 94.
That was not the first time the sea lion had been caught in an odd place. The rescue team had tagged him so they could easily identify him and track his movements.
The first-time rescue crews found him was at Harbor Island Drive near the airport. He was also rescued on separate occasions along the boardwalk in Mission Beach, near a deli in Mission Bay, and on the Navy Base in Point Loma, according to Sea World.
He was given the name, Freeway, after the infamous freeway rescue in January of 2022 when he was found miles away from the ocean wandering. Freeway took many adventurous trips.
In April of 2022, the sea lion was found in a storm drain. Rescuers took him to SeaWorld's Rescue Center and decided to watch over him until his passing away on Thursday last week.
"His adventurous spirit won the hearts of San Diegans, and he will be remembered for that and so much more," Sea World said.
