A sea lion broke into the Ross family home in New Zealand on Wednesday morning. The animal entered through the cat flap of the house located Mountain Maunganui is related Guardian, He hung in the hallway for a few hours while the children slept upstairs. Her presence frightened the owners’ cat.
© Phil Rossi
The Ross family was surprised to find a New Zealand fur seal in their home about 150 meters from the beach.
Phil Ross, a marine biologist at the university waikatoSaid that he was unfortunate to be the only absentee at the time.
his wife, JaneAnd her two children, Noah and Ari, were at home when they received this unexpected visitor.
© Phil Rossi
The animal, which Phil identified as a 10-month-old New Zealand fur seal, managed to enter the home through the flap of the cat and terrorize the family cat, but Phil believes the cat to be the main culprit. Is.
© Phil Rossi
,I had never heard of sea lions going through a cat flap, but I think it’s our cat Coco’s fault. The cocoa is quite territorial and has a tendency to kill dogs. I think he kicked the sea lion, which didn’t return, then chased him through the side of the house and two cat poops into the garage and then to the bottom of our house. Coconut He hid in the neighbor’s house and did not want to come home until the sea lion was gone. The next day he didn’t want to go downstairs. We didn’t see the interaction between Seal and the cat, but it was clearly something Koko didn’t appreciate“, Phil told Fox TV stations.
© Phil Rossi
,In winter, there are often a lot of sea lions at some of my research sites, so I often see them underwater. I try to avoid them on the ground, as they can get quite grumpy. The irony of the situation is that this is probably the only family emergency where having a marine biologist at home would be helpful and I was not there. I totally missed my proud moment“, jokes Phil.
About 90 minutes ago the animal remained in the house Jane Couldn’t take him outside where he was captured by the Department of Conservation Ranger. Phil said that the seal was released safely in an estuary. ,JaneMy wife is very calm in these situations and handled the situation perfectly“, she continues.
© Phil Rossi
,It is very common for young sea lions to be found on unusual stretches of coast at this time of year. Young people tend to wean, to take care of themselves, and like most teenagers, they can make wrong decisions about where they end up. We’ve just had a huge storm, and before heading back to sea, many sea lions are on the beach to rest and recuperate. This particular sea lion was apparently in good shape and decided to explore the sand dunes and the surrounding roads and houses“, explains Phil.
© Phil Rossi
According to Phil, the New Zealand fur seal was nearly hunted to extinction in the 1800s. But since being protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1978, their numbers have increased and populations are re-increasing in the areas they once occupied.
,The challenge is that this leads to greater interactions between seals and humans, and potentially little conflict when humans and seals seek similar resources. (Pisces) or occupying the same parcel of coastal property“, he specifies.
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