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New Zealand fur seal (icon image)
Photo: Susanne Fritzsche / PantherMedia / IMAGO
Seals are not commonly known as pets.
A New Zealand fur seal has now proven that marine animals are occasionally interested in living in permanent dwellings.
As reported by »The Guardian«, among other things, the animal came through the cat flap into the house of a family in the coastal town of Mount Maunganui on the North Island of New Zealand.
The sea dog then went on a tour of discovery - and in the process made acquaintance with the house cat Coco.
After the encounter, according to the homeowner, she initially no longer dared to go downstairs because she was "obviously quite traumatized."
However, the animal guest caused enthusiasm among the human residents.
He earned the nickname Oscar.
Robbe probably spent several hours in the house
As father Phil Ross reported to the newspaper, his wife Jenn woke up the two children after spotting the fur seal in the house.
"They thought it was cool and pretty exciting," said Ross, who wasn't in the house himself.
The seal made himself comfortable on a couch on the way through the house at times.
Overall, the marine mammal is said to have stayed in the house for more than two hours.
Phil Ross works as a marine biologist.
"The big joke is that this is probably the only family emergency where it would have been useful to have a marine biologist on-site," he said.
He "missed his opportunity to shine," he lamented.
Thankfully, the animal didn't relieve itself in the house, Ross said.
"I think that would have been the end of the furniture."
Seals apparently leave the beach frequently
Eventually, a ranger called in caught the seal in a net and brought it back to sea.
According to the Guardian, there had been a number of calls related to migrating seals that morning.
The population of New Zealand fur seals has therefore recovered in recent years and is once again claiming larger areas for itself.
According to biologist Ross, it is not unusual for seals in the region to leave the beach.
However, they usually do not enter houses.
People are advised not to get close to the animals.
The seals can also move quickly on land and inflict dangerous bite injuries on humans if they feel threatened.
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