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

The Girl They Erased..

Hannah Whitaker grew up in a family that constantly mocked her appearance and ignored her achievements. At her high school graduation party, instead of celebrating her full…

“What Trust Fund?”: The Graduation Question That Exposed a $3 Million Secret

At her college graduation, Maggie Brennan expected nothing more than celebration—until her grandmother, Vivien, casually asked about a $3 million trust fund Maggie had never heard of….

“A Little Respect Goes a Long Way”

One night, a husband stumbled home drunk and tried to joke his way out of trouble, blaming his behavior on a drink that shared his wife’s name….

The Day Respect Walked Through Our Door

What began as a simple accident at a restaurant quickly turned ugly when a pregnant waitress named Evelyn accidentally spilled tea on my husband George’s designer jeans….

Nine Days After We Fled My Daughter Saw The Rabbit Blink And Everything Changed

Nine days after leaving my husband, I sat on a park bench in Dayton with my two daughters, eleven dollars left, and a carton of lukewarm rice…

THE WOMAN THEY REJECTED

When my father died, I thought grief would be the hardest part. I was wrong. Months later, I found my stepmother—the woman my family had quietly resented—living…