“When the night has come and the land is dark and the moon is the only light we'll see, no, I won't be afraid just as long as you stand by me.”
Seal has sung these romantic verses time and time again. The heartfelt words embed themselves into the psyche of a heartbroken sailor, leading to acoustic sessions by the shore. His audience - another seal. Taking these verses a little too literally, the seal was about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime.
That’s at least how I imagine the scenario playing out. A scenario which led to the invasion of privacy - starting with a car, then home, and then to scaring away 1 of the 9 lives the household’s cat had. Sadly for the seal, no one wanted to come up and spend the night with him. But the sofa can’t have been that bad.
Look, I know I can get a bit silly with my writing, so let’s get into the facts and the actual story before I make up a fantasy tale of two seals and a cat (lemme know if you want a fantasy tale of two seals and a cat).
A curious young seal invited itself into a New Zealand home, terrorized the family’s cat, but otherwise destroyed nothing. Hard to believe it’s real, but it is
Image credits: cococatsealrustler
What do you do when you find a seal inside your home, 150 meters (492 feet) away from the sea? A) Panic and give up the house ownership to the seal, B) Contact emergency services and try to isolate the seal, C) Offer it some fish and chips, D) Take it in as the family’s new pet.
Those were the choices the Ross family of Mount Maunganui, New Zealand, considered (or maybe they didn’t, I can’t read minds) as their home was invaded by a seal - not to be confused with the famous British singer Seal. “I knew the kids were wanting a new pet... but this was definitely a step too far,” the marine biologist of the family, named Phil Ross, who’s also a researcher at the University of Waikato, wrote in a Facebook post.
The marine biologist of the family, Phil Ross, was away for work, missing his “time to shine.” His wife Jenn took care of it like a pro
Image credits: Phil Ross
Ironically, the one person who would have been instrumental in this situation was away from home. “The big joke is that this is really the only family emergency where it would be useful to have a marine biologist in the house,” he said, as reported by The Guardian. “I really missed my time to shine.”
The family moved to Mount Maunganui in October 2012 for Phil's research and environmental monitoring work on the ecological impact of the Rena shipwreck on Astrolabe Reef. His career has also taken him to Antarctica - the only other place he has seen seals so far from their ocean homes.
Jenn woke up just before 6 a.m. to go to the gym. Upon returning an hour later, she opened the door to find “a cute little seal” in their home
Image credits: Phil Ross
His wife Jenn woke up just before 6 a.m. on Wednesday, August 17, to go to the gym. “As she got in the car, something barked nearby and shuffled away. She thought it was someone’s dog… and didn’t really think too much of it,” Phil recalled.
She returned at around 7 a.m., opening the door to the house only to find “a cute little seal.”
The sudden appearance of the human seemed to frighten the small seal, which quickly made its way to the spare room and then proceeded to chill on the sofa
Image credits: Phil Ross
The sudden appearance of the human seemed to frighten the small seal, which quickly made its way to the spare room. She went to wake their two children, Noah, 12, and Ari, 10, asking them to come and see “their new pet.”
The family nicknamed the seal “Oscar,” following a long-standing tradition of giving seals that name in the community.
Phil believes that the seal had been accidentally invited in by their cat Coco. The feline is known to cause trouble and might have attacked the wrong pup
Image credits: cococatsealrustler
It was all fun and games, but Jenn had some questions she wanted answers to - where did the seal come from and how did it get inside?
Phil believes that the seal had been inadvertently invited in by their family cat, named Coco. The feline, being quite territorial, expected the unfamiliar creature to act similarly to the dogs in the neighborhood, who’d get scared off easily. But that wasn’t going to be the case this time. The seal may have gotten curious with the cat, wanting to make friends, until the cat came at it with violence.
They think the seal followed the cat back home, entering through the two cat flaps. The cat itself decided to run away to the neighbor’s house, traumatized by the event
Image credits: Phil Ross
The barking Jenn heard must’ve been the seal just encountering Coco, and Phil argued that soon after his wife left the property the seal had gotten inside with the help of two catflaps. “The cat would have gone to defend its territory and obviously the seal wasn’t as intimidated as some dogs are, so Coco must have bolted around the side of the house, into the catflap, and the seal must have followed her,” he explained.
The cat, petrified of the sudden intruder, ran away to the neighbor’s house to find shelter. Upon returning home, the cat flat-out refused to go downstairs, “clearly pretty traumatized.” Coco has since had a sniff around and seems to be getting back to her usual self.
Jenn was able to usher the seal out the front door, where a ranger from the Department of Conservation was waiting to take the intruder back home
Image credits: Phil Ross
The seal chilled out on the sofa in the spare room for a little while before Jenn was able to usher it out the front door and into the garden. A ranger from the Department of Conservation came up to the Ross residency at 10 a.m. to attempt to take the intruder back home.
The seal was safely released back into a local estuary, Phil told FOX 5. “Jenn, my wife, is very cool-headed in these situations and handled the situation perfectly,” he continued.
Although an unplanned visitor, Oscar came across as very polite and respectful. Phil was happy to say that the seal didn’t choose to defecate inside. “I think that would have been pretty terminal for the furniture,” he said.
Image credits: Phil Ross
Phil explained that this sort of behavior was not unusual to see in young seals. Roaming about the area at this time of year was the result of the young ones beginning to wean and head out on their own. “I guess, like all teenagers, they don’t necessarily make sensible decisions,” he laughed.
“Seals can wander as far as 15km inland, often by following rivers and streams. They can appear in unusual places, such as a paddock, roadside or an inner-city street. This is a normal occurrence from exploratory behavior,” he told FOX 5.
He continued to say that as they’d just had a big storm, quite a few seals had been showing up on the beach for some rest and recovery, before heading back out again. “This particular seal was obviously in good condition so decided to go for an explore over the sand dunes and up into the nearby streets and houses,” Phil said.
Image credits: cococatsealrustler
The New Zealand fur seal population is making a comeback and retaking much of their former homeland, following their near-extinction in the 1800s. As cute as they may be, seals can be pretty vicious. They move quickly and can inflict serious injuries if they feel threatened. They also carry infectious diseases.
The Department of Conservation recommends staying at least 20 meters (65.6 feet) away, not making loud noises in their presence, and keeping dogs and children out of their way. The Cornwall Seal Group states that one should always let seals make the first move - let them approach you. Sit back, wait quietly and observe. Aim to stay calm and move slowly to avoid spooking the seals and provoking an aggressive response.
Seals are generally gentle creatures and will by default choose flight over fight, but they are most likely to be aggressive if you come between them and their escape route to safety, their next meal (same, honestly), a mother and her pup, or two males in an altercation for a female.
Seals, although gentle creatures, will attack if provoked, so stay safe out there. We wish the family all the best for the future!
Image credits: cococatsealrustler
The hilarious story has been making rounds in the media, which completely surprised the family. “We thought it would be a funny story to share with local media. But then it got a little out of hand…” Phil wrote in a Facebook post.
“The world is a pretty grim place at the moment and it appears that a home invading seal (not Seal) was exactly what everyone was ready for. It has been hilarious seeing this story bring a few laughs to people all over the world.”
“I did miss my time to shine! I'll make up for it when you come home to find a Great White in the bathtub!” Phil continued jokingly. We hope that doesn’t happen, but if it does - it’ll be one heck of a story, that’s for sure. For the time being, the only seal invited into the Ross residence is the musician: "... and if anyone knows the real Seal, let him know that he is welcome to drop by anytime for a jam."
We wish the family all the best for the future and hope their cat Coco takes a chill pill and stops attacking everything in sight. Let us know your thoughts and plan of action should a seal ever come into your home, and I shall wish you all the best!
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People have found this story absolutely hilarious and we don’t blame them. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
