New Zealand: seals break into marine biologist’s home News

Mount Maunganui – Seals have made their way to a marine biologist’s home on Mount Maunganui on New Zealand’s North Island. Unfortunately, the world missed the uninvited guest.

Phil Ross, a researcher at the University of Waikato, told the NZ Herald the strange story: Last Wednesday, his wife walked out of the house and heard something “barking” and “pushing away” when she got into the car. . She thought it was a live dog and drove off.

When she returned, she discovered a “small and very cute” New Zealand fur seal at home. The animal hangs in the living room, checks out the guest room and hops onto the sofa. It was a house torn and left no clutter.

A marine biologist’s hunch: The family cat, Coco, which is aggressive toward dogs, may have encountered seals in the front yard. The cat may have attacked the seal, but the seal could not stand it. She appears to have followed Coco through an animal door in the garage and from there through a door into the house, about 150 meters from the sea.

His two children were excited about the visitor, so the cat, frightened, ran away to the neighbors. Ross was not at home. “This was the only family emergency in which a marine biologist could have come in handy — I missed an opportunity to shine,” he said.

The marine biologist estimates that the seal is about ten months old and has been weaned from its mother. Perhaps the animal came ashore to recover from a storm. Ross: “This time of year, you have to expect seals to be on the beach, on the streets, and in unusual places.”

After Oscar, as he was nicknamed, looked around the house and photographed himself in various poses, conservationists picked up the little seal and returned it to the sea.