Southland
A young fur seal pup was a very long way from home when he recently ended up at Heddon Bush, near Central Southland.
The little guy turned up on the front lawn of a local family’s Heddon Bush farm, in the lead-up to Labour Weekend, before disappearing into some nearby bush.
Local women Mary Witsey, said she and her family searched for the runaway pup, after he disappeared off their lawn, but to no avail.
She called DOC who said that he’d find his own way home and that it was best not to disturb him.
“Assuming he came from Oreti Beach, he’d travelled 50 Km’s to visit us. That’s a huge distance for a wee guy like that.
“We’re right in the heart of Central Southland. I really couldn’t believe it.
“It was quite surreal - I mean a fur seal on your front lawn.
“He was a cute wee fella. He looked happy enough and he was plump and uninjured.
“I offered to feed him some fish or water, but DOC said that wasn’t a good idea.
“I lay awake that night wondering if he was all right. It wasn’t till this week that DOC sent me a message to say he’d been found.”
Four days after his first appearance, the fur seal pup was sighted by a young farmer, also at Heddon Bush, who called the Southland District Council.
Senior Compliance Officer Melissa Palmer arrived on the scene and with the help of her husband Shaun, and a large sheet, they managed to get the seal into the back of their truck.
Melissa said they found the fur seal lying in the dirt, near a shelter belt, surrounded by curious dairy cows.
“It was tired, if anything, the poor bugger.”
Melissa also phoned DOC and talked to duty ranger Trevor Huggins.
After hearing the story and assessing the seal’s condition, he advised Melissa to take it to Ōreti Beach, release it away from people and dogs, and watch it to make sure it went back into the water.
Trevor said today he believed the seal pup was the same one that had been spotted prior to Labour Weekend.
“It’s not that uncommon to hear of finding hopelessly lost seals miles inland from the sea.
“What they do is mum will park them (her pups) up on the beach and she’ll go away fishing, and the kids don’t stay in one place like they’re supposed to.
“He’s thought, ‘I’ll go for a wee bit of a look up this creek’. So he’s probably come up the Ōreti River then gone into a side creek then into a ditch and ended up on a farm.
“He’s survived quite well by himself so he’s probably been catching fish up the creek, which means he’s probably on the verge of being weaned anyhow.”
Trevor said it was a good result getting the seal back into the ocean, and a good rescue by Melissa Palmer.