The 2-ton seal was making his way through a suburb of Gordon’s Bay near Cape Town, eventually stopping next to a shopping mall.
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Residents of a coastal town near Cape Town were stunned early Tuesday morning when a large elephant seal was spotted lumbering down a suburban street, prompting an unexpected rescue mission.
The two-ton marine mammal, identified by an animal welfare group as a young male, had somehow wandered into a neighborhood in Gordon’s Bay. Locals stepped outside to capture videos of the unusual visitor.
“This is unreal. Hi, bro, how did you get here?” one woman can be heard asking in a video.
In an effort to keep the seal safe, police and a local security company formed a makeshift barrier using patrol cars. At one point, the seal rested his massive head on the hood of a car and even tried to clamber over another before slipping free. He crossed a road and continued his stroll along the sidewalk, eventually stopping next to a shopping mall.
Animal welfare officials grew concerned that the seal was too far from the ocean to return on his own and could become dehydrated or exhausted. Though estimated to weigh around two tons, elephant seals can grow to double that size.
A team of marine wildlife specialists and a city veterinarian responded, sedating the seal and carefully guiding him into a transport trailer. He was taken to a nearby bay where he could safely return to his natural habitat.
Later, the Cape of Good Hope SPCA shared a video on social media of the seal making his way across the sand toward the ocean.
“Sea you later,” the video caption read.