Marine biologist Phil Ross, a researcher at the University of Waikato in New Zealand, received an unexpected visitor at his home on August 17. It seems that this visitor, although cute in appearance, completely terrified the house cat.
His wife, Jen Ross, left the house around 6 am to go to the gym, according to The Guardian. As he got into the car, he heard some barking and movement, but he thought it was the neighbour’s dog.
Jen returned home at 7:00 hours later. When I entered the house, there was a small New Zealand fur seal in the house.
“It was[y sêl ffwr]looked a little scared and went down the hall and into the room,” Phil told The Guardian.
Facebook / University of Waikato
A fur seal was on the sofa in the room and was trying to climb up on the desk.
Jen managed to get the fur seal off the front porch and into the garden, then called a Wildlife Service Ranger to bring him back to the ocean.
The 10 and 12 year olds who were sleeping upstairs were also woken up by Jen to meet the fur seals, but unfortunately only Phil was absent. “This is probably a home emergency where a marine biologist would be the only help,” he said.
Facebook / University of Waikato
On the other hand, Coco, the family’s pet cat, was traumatized by this incident. Phil believes the fur seals first encountered Coco outside the house and then followed the cat into the house through the pet entrance.
Phil said, “The cat is probably trying to defend its territory. I think the fur seals are chasing us,” he explains to The Guardian.
It seems it was quite a scary experience, and Coco was hiding in a neighbour’s house. Even after returning home, he did not come down to the first floor that day and appeared to be “obviously traumatised”.
Facebook / University of Waikato
Phil’s house is about 150 meters from the beach, and it is not uncommon to see fur seals in the neighborhood at this time of year. But this is the first time a fur seal has entered the house.
Phil told the New Zealand Herald that it was a young sea lion that had just stood up and was on land to avoid the storm.
“At this time of year you may see fur seals on beaches, roads, or other places they wouldn’t normally see.” “Keep your distance and keep your dog away.”
