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.
