There is nothing more Australian in the aftermath of Christmas Day than to chill out, relax, and make the most of the public holiday. Apparently, it was the same mantra for a large fur seal who picked Boxing Day on December 26 to wander up a suburban street and roam around in Newstead in Tasmania, Australia.
For some reason, the amphibian mammal climbed onto a car and due to its massive weight, smashed the car’s windscreen and also dented its roof, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.
Dubbed as ‘Lou-Seal’ by the Tasmanian police, the large Australian fur seal was later discovered on a street in Launceston suburb of Newstead.
The authorities attributed the presence of the fur seal in the suburb because of the small waterways dotted around Newstead. But then, the suburb is about 50 kilometers inland, which led to speculations that ‘Lou-Seal’ may have traveled a long way and got lost from its usual habitat.
A number of people in the neighborhood were able to take several snapshots of ‘Lou-Seal’ before it was captured by Parks & Wildlife authorities and brought back to its natural habitat.
Sitting on the hood of a car
There were a lot of photos of the large adult male seal sitting on the hood of a car in busy Penquite Road as early as before seven in the morning of December 26.
The animal was so large that he can hardly maneuver to turn around and see the people taking pictures of him.
There is also a picture of ‘Lou-Seal’ taking a snooze on a garden path next to a fence while the car where he was sitting in front previously was left with an obvious exterior damage.
Sergeant Renee Stewart from Tasmania Police confirmed that ‘Lou-Seal’ slept behind a couple of parked cars in a driveway, and described the fur seal as probably just chilling out and enjoying his Boxing Day morning.
The lady sergeant added that ‘Lou-Seal’ has taken a bit of shining to a resident’s vehicle, which he lay on and had a bit of sleep on for a while before he climbed up and over the roof, leaving considerable damage to the vehicle.
She added that ‘Lou-Seal’ was sleeping when the police arrived on the scene and they waited for Parks & Wildlife officers to arrive.
While efforts were being done to contain the fur seal, residents were also advised to steer clear of the animal to avoid agitating it.
‘Lou-Seal’ was first seen in parkland, before it crossed the road and settled into the front yard of a home.
Now a ‘seal-ebrity’
The official Tasmania Police Twitter handle tweeted a few hours later two pictures of ‘Lou-Seal’ before he was collected from Penquite Road.
The Tasmania Police captioned its post by saying that after a ‘sealiously’ big morning, ‘Lou-Seal’ is now a ‘seal-ebrity’ and has been collected by officers from Parks & Wildlife.
The authorities also said that that ‘Lou-Seal’ will be released back to its habitat after a medical check-up. It also thanked the public for staying at a safe distance.
Just before 11 in the morning of the same day, ‘Lou-Seal’ was tranquilized, moved into a trailer, and driven away.
Male fur seals from Australia can grow to two meters long and can weigh more than 360 kilograms. It is believed to be the first time in Tasmania that a fur seal has ventured so far inland.
‘Lou-Seal’ was estimated to weigh 200 kilograms.
A resident of Newstead, William Gregory, recounted that he got up and he saw a great big seal on the roof of the car which is definitely not what he would expect on Boxing Day.
He asked was that really happening or was he just dreaming. He also recounted when ‘Lou-Seal’ made a spectacular maneuver where it slid down the back of the first car and jumped on the bonnet of a second car and scrambled over the top of that.