Sea lion apprehended by German police after waddling through traffic

Its name is Charly

Sea lion named Charly next to a police vehicle in Coburg, Germany (EPA)

German police have apprehended a sea lion after it rambled down the road and brought traffic to a standstill.

The sea mammal, named Charly, escaped from a nearby zoo and surprised drivers in the Bavarian town of Coburg.

Charly disappearance was first noticed when he did not turn up for his morning feed of fish.

He continued to move through the traffic until he lay down in exhaustion next to a police car.

Police helped the sea lion keeper's to capture Charly and return him to his enclosure.

In February, a sea lion was found occupying a dining booth in the Marine Room restaurant in San Diego, California.

Bernard Guillas, executive chef at the The Marine Room restaurant posted photos of Charly on Facebook, saying: "He was a little bit early for his high tide breakfast reservation...as it is this weekend on Sunday and Monday."

The severely underweight and dehydrated eight-month-old female received a big meal after its rescue and is currently being treated.

Scientists say the local sea lions' food supply has been affected by ocean temperatures and El Niño, leading to a recent population decline.

Jody Westberg from the SeaWorld rescue team said: "We received a phone call early this morning from the Marine Room restaurant in La Jolla stating that they had an animal in one of their booths.

"They also sent us pictures and we were surprised to see a really young sea lion pup that had actually spent the night in this booth at the restaurant."