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

A Husband’s Surprising Answer..

When my husband went to the supermarket, I asked him to buy my usual sanitary pads. When he came back with the exact brand I use, I…

A Granddaughter’s True Gratitude: The Handmade Gift That Stole Her Heart..

Feeling small and overlooked after her college-graduating granddaughter received a brand-new car from her other grandmother while barely acknowledging her affordable handmade crochet gift, a grandmother quietly…

The Father Who Chose Me..

My mom had me at 17, gave me up, and when I found her at 20, she rejected me by claiming her powerful husband would leave her…

The Little Girl on the Swing Who Found a Family..

One cold day, I found little Emma crying alone on a playground, afraid to go home.After learning she had lost her grandmother and struggled in an orphanage,…

Here’s What A Handshake Symbol On A Parking Space Means

Meeting strangers for online sales can feel risky, especially when exchanging cash in unfamiliar places.Designated safe-trade zones provide neutral, public spaces where people can make transactions with…

The Four Words That Silenced the Room..

During a seemingly normal family dinner, a woman began overtly flirting with the author’s husband, prompting their remarkably observant six-year-old daughter to walk over and bluntly tell…