OAKLAND (California) - A BABY sea lion has been rescued after wandering onto a busy San Francisco Bay area freeway.

Drivers on I-880 started calling authorities early Monday morning after spotting the creature waddling along the centre divider near the Oakland Coliseum.

California Highway Patrol Officer Peter Van Eckhardt said the sea lion may have come from a San Francisco Bay estuary nearby.

The pup was taken to the Marine Mammal Centre in Marine County, where spokesman Jim Oswald said the animal is active and alert but malnourished.

A male sea lion was found on another highway in May, but died from malnourishment. -- AP