Lost Seal Causes Confusion on a Rural Farm in Victoria

Each animal has a designated habitat. One where all their basic needs are met and that is suitable for their lifestyle. However, there are times when animals surprisingly appear in different places other than their habitats. It causes confusion to witnesses, especially for the animals living in that particular environment. People wonder why those animals end up there — why did they get lost?

Recently, a big black seal made it to the news. According to reports, the seal wandered onto a rural farm near a cow paddock. The seal was 30 kilometers away from the coast of the ocean at Simpson, southwest of Victoria. It was seen trying to shoo off the curious herd of cows. The dairy cows immediately took a step back away from the unfamiliar creature. They had never seen that kind of bull before. Karli McGee, the farm owner, was shocked by the surprising turn of events in her paddock.

“We’re in shock. We didn’t know what to do with it,” Karli said. She even thought it was a lost wild pig at first, but she noticed it had a pair of flippers. Karli had to reach out to fisheries for help so that they could safely return the seal home. Jodi Lee from 7News reported that zoo officials warned the people in the area to stay away from the seal, as it might get aggressive. Rescuers hoped that the seal would find its way back home.

“A lot of people commented, you know, why is no one doing anything about it, but it is nature, and we can’t. We are not allowed to go near him. So, we can’t rescue it myself,” says Karli.

The farm owner shared photos and videos of the seal on her social media accounts. People have been making assumptions as to why the seal got lost. One social media user commented, “He’s most likely come up the rivers and then creeks from Princetown.” After a week of wandering, the seal still couldn’t return home. For this reason, authorities had to intervene and plan the seal’s next step.

The head veterinarian of the Melbourne Zoo, Michael Lynch, determined the seal’s issue. “Today’s intervention was required after the seal failed to find a way back to the open ocean along the same path it used to arrive at the farm,” Dr. Lynch said. Based on his findings, the seal was old and suffered blindness in one eye, and it also had dental fractures. Sadly, they had to make a heartbreaking decision — the seal must be put down.

“It was determined that euthanasia was the kindest welfare outcome, as the seal would have been unable to forage and live naturally in the wild,” Dr. Lynch explained. Karli shared the experience on her Instagram account, and people commented on the sad outcome. She received words of comfort — no matter how sad the outcome was, Karli did a great job calling out for help to return the lost seal to where he belonged.