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

We Had Lived Here For 18 Years And Somehow Never Noticed This Door

Those small, low-lying metal doors on older homes are historic coal chutes that allowed delivery workers to dump coal directly into basement storage bins, serving as a…

One Quick Tip From Another Driver Made Me Realize There Was A Much Easier Way To Handle This

Drivers lift windshield wipers to prevent rubber damage from sun-baked glass in hot climates and to stop blades from freezing stuck during winter storms, though it is…

The Final Words of the ‘Grizzly Man’ — What Happened Next Became Tragic

Timothy Treadwell, known as “Grizzly Man,” spent 13 summers living among Alaska’s brown bears before he and his girlfriend, Amie Huguenard, were fatally attacked in Katmai National…

Two Women Appeared at Their Door

A pregnant waitress accidentally spilled tea on a customer, only to be humiliated by his cruel reaction, while his wife quietly left her a $50 tip. Days…

Husband Smirks At Her Collapse Until Military Doctor Pauses Courtroom Hearing

Falsely accused in court by her husband and mother-in-law of faking medical emergencies, a mother collapsed on the courtroom floor, where an army doctor rushed to her…

With heavy hearts, we report the sad news about the multi-talented actress and writer… – See the comments..

The celebrated actress and prolific playwright has passed away at the age of 75. Raised in Texas, her passion for performance began during a school contest, eventually…