Elephant seal rescued from Whidbey Island storm drain

LANGLEY, Wash. - Emergency crews were called to Whidbey Island for a rescue on Tuesday, but it wasn't a human in need of a rescue.

Just before 7:30 p.m., South Whidbey Fire/EMS, the Island County Sheriff's Office and the Langley Police Department were called to Old Beach Road in the Mutiny Bay area for reports of an elephant seal caught trapped in a vault of a stormwater drainage system in the lawn of a condominium complex.

According to South Whidbey Fire/EMS, the vault is connected to Mutiny Bay by a large pipe, and the seal, known as 'Elwood,' likely came through that pipe to get into the vault but was unable to get back to the bay that way.

It's unknown how long the seal was treading water in the vault, which is about eight feet below the ground level and four feet deep, South Whidbey Fire/EMS said. The agency said Elwood was likely treading water for "hours."

"The lock was cut and the grates opened, and a ladder lowered in, in hopes that he could rest against that while it was determined how best to get him out. South Whidbey Fire was able to bring a cargo net to the scene, which was lowered with ropes and maneuvered underneath Elwood," Deputy Chief Terry Ney said of the rescue.

Elwood was then carried to the beach when rescuers noticed he was too exhausted to move himself there.