Family discovers an unexpected animal napping on their porch: a seal pup

You never know what kind of animal you might find right outside your doorstep. Recently, one family got quite a surprise after a very unexpected animal wandered far from home and decided to take a nap on their porch.

According to a Facebook post from New Zealand’s Department of Conservation, a family in Wellington discovered a seal pup outside their home last week, curling up for a cozy nap on their porch:

“It had been on a bit of a mission, climbing up the seawall stairs, crossing a road, hiking up a footpath, a driveway, and finally another set of stairs, before reaching its nap spot,” the Department of Conservation wrote.

“It’s not every day you come home to find a seal curled up on your front porch.”

The creature is a New Zealand fur seal, or kekeno. Despite the name, they are not true seals, and are more closely related to the sea lion.

It’s not uncommon for young seals to pop up like this during this time of year: May through September is known as “seal silly season” in New Zealand, when young pups and adult males leave their colonies.

These seals like to explore the wider world during this period, and locals often find seals in the roadways, public spaces and even their homes.

But the Department of Conservation stresses that this is normal and that the seals should to go about their business without much intervention: “They might look skinny or sick, with weepy eyes and a cough, but this is normal – seals are very resilient animals,” they wrote on Facebook. “Seals need rest, not rescuing.”

However they also said that if a seal is on your property, injured or in danger, it’s best to call the department. In the case of this sleepy porch seal, an officer arrived and relocated it to a safer location away from dogs and traffic.

Related Posts

She Thought She Stole My Husband—But I Owned His Empire..

At her anniversary dinner, Claire Whitmore was publicly humiliated when her husband, Ethan Hayes, and his mistress, Brooke, announced their engagement in front of guests. Instead of…

“The Day I Walked Into My Father’s Cold House and Learned the Truth About My Brother”

I had been sending money every month after my father’s stroke, trusting my brother Mark to take care of him. When I arrived unannounced, I found the…

The Soldier They Underestimated..

Captain Elias Thorne was deployed overseas when he received a devastating call: his pregnant wife, Tessa, had been brutally assaulted and had lost their unborn child. When…

The Sister My Mother Tried to Keep From Me..

When she was only five years old, a little girl was abandoned by her mother at an orphanage with nothing but a plastic grocery bag filled with…

My Children Divided My Estate Before I Died—So I Changed Everything Overnight

I woke in the middle of the night and overheard my children discussing how they would divide my house, jewelry, money, and belongings after I was gone….

Small Acts of Kindness That Changed Lives Forever..

Life can change in a single moment, often because of the kindness of a stranger. One woman was saved from heartbreak when a stranger secretly handed her…