Overview
- The juvenile seal entered Sprig + Fern The Meadows in Richmond on New Zealand’s South Island during a rainy Sunday afternoon.
- Customers initially mistook it for a dog and tried to usher it out, but it fled into a bathroom and hid under a dishwasher.
- Multiple public reports had already alerted the Department of Conservation to a stray seal in the area before it reached the bar.
- Rangers arrived, safely captured the pup, and released it on nearby Rabbit Island, which officials consider a safe site.
- A DOC spokesperson praised the bar staff for protecting the animal as security camera footage of the episode spread across media.