New Zealand’s Department of Conservation said the bar staff “did a great job keeping the seal safe” until their workers arrived.
A Curious Seal “Walks” Into a New Zealand Bar
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — It sounds like the start of a joke, but it really happened: a baby seal wandered into a bar.
Or, to be more accurate, it galumphed inside.
The young fur seal was clearly lost, very curious and, fortunately, far under New Zealand’s legal drinking age. After waddling into the bar, it wedged itself under the dishwasher and showed no interest in leaving.
The unexpected visitor showed up on a quiet Sunday evening at Sprig+Fern The Meadows, a craft beer bar in Richmond, near the top of New Zealand’s South Island. The bar is pet-friendly, so co-owner Bella Evans at first thought the intruder was just an unusually wet dog.
Then she looked more closely.
“Everyone just froze,” Evans said. “We were like, ‘What is happening? What do we do?’”
Security camera footage later captured the seal’s dramatic entrance. A customer tried to gently guide it back outside using a sweater, but the slippery guest made a break for the bathroom and hid beneath the dishwasher, which staff quickly unplugged for safety.
Another patron went home and returned with a dog crate, while Evans came up with a plan to coax the little runaway out of hiding.
“I turned to my fiancé and said, ‘Grab the salmon! Grab the salmon!’” she recalled. (Salmon happened to be a pizza special that night.)
Before long, conservation officers arrived — and it turned out they were already searching for the seal.
“It was actually their fourth call about him that day,” Evans said. “They’d been driving around trying to find this baby seal.”
New Zealand’s Department of Conservation confirmed they’d received multiple reports about a wandering seal in the Richmond area that day. Officials praised the pub staff for keeping the animal safe until help arrived.
Rangers later released the seal on Rabbit Island, a nearby area considered safe because dogs aren’t allowed there.
According to conservation staff, it’s not unusual for young seals to explore strange places around this time of year. They often follow rivers and streams and can end up miles inland.
“They show up in odd locations sometimes — even pubs,” said spokesperson Helen Otley. “It’s normal exploratory behaviour.”
Thanks to successful conservation efforts, seal and sea lion populations in New Zealand have grown, which means more encounters with humans. Scientists even nickname this period the “silly season” because seals are regularly spotted in places like gardens, golf courses and even busy roads.
Evans, who only recently took over ownership of the bar, said this was definitely the most unusual customer she’s had to escort out.
But, she added, the seal — affectionately nicknamed Fern by the staff — would be welcome back.
“We keep joking that now we’ve got the seal of approval,” she said.
And yes — salmon is staying on the menu.