SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- The Marine Mammal Center (MMC) is monitoring an injured California sea lion spotted near Pier 39 in San Francisco on Tuesday. Pacific Grove swimmer’s cause of death confirmed as shark attack According to the center, crews received several reports through its rescue hotline on Jan. 6 about a possibly injured sea lion in the area and were dispatched to evaluate the animal. The sea lion is described by MMC as a large, sub-adult male with a wound in its lower extremities that appears to be relatively fresh. Photo courtesy of Pamela Simmonite.Photo courtesy of Pamela Simmonite. Responders said the injury appears consistent with a shark bite, though that has not been confirmed. MMC confirmed a veterinarian will need to inspect the wound to determine the exact cause. Despite the lower-body trauma, crews said the sea lion appears to be in good overall condition. The animal was described as very alert and quickly returned to the water when responders attempted to help. "The animal is in robust body condition and has been active in coming and going from the floating docks according to experts at the Center," said MMC in a statement to KRON4. For safety reasons, crews are waiting for the sea lion to haul out of the water again, so they can conduct a closer evaluation and inspect the injury. "The Center’s team is monitoring the animal and its condition and will proceed with a rescue when the animal is in a safe location for our experts to safely access and respond to it," the center added. "Due to its current injuries, the Center’s team is proceeding with measured caution in order to plan a response to the animal with the least amount of stress possible to it to avoid risk of further injury. It’s unknown whether the animal is suffering from any other underlying ailment in addition to the trauma at this time." This story will be updated. ...read more read less