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.<\/p>\n
According to a Facebook post from New Zealand\u2019s 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:<\/p>\n
\u201cIt 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,\u201d the Department of Conservation wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not every day you come home to find a seal curled up on your front porch.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not uncommon for young seals to pop up like this during this time of year: May through September is known as \u201cseal silly season\u201d in New Zealand, when young pups and adult males leave their colonies.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
But the Department of Conservation stresses that this is normal and that the seals should to go about their business without much intervention: \u201cThey might look skinny or sick, with weepy eyes and a cough, but this is normal \u2013 seals are very resilient animals,\u201d they wrote on Facebook. \u201cSeals need rest, not rescuing.\u201d<\/p>\n
However they also said that if a seal is on your property, injured or in danger, it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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