A huge elephant seal who has been causing a stir in Victoria, Australia, interrupted a dog owner’s usual walk on a favorite pier on January 22, after rangers roped off the structure so the sea creature could loll undisturbed.Local diver Jules Casey captured footage of the seal at Camerons Bight in the seaside town of Blairgowrie and posted it on
Instagram.What’s
believed to be the same seal was spotted in Point Lonsdale on January 20, and spotted again in Blairgowrie on
January 23.Casey said an unintended consequence of the seal taking up residence on the jetty on the 22nd was that it interrupted her usual dog-walking routine with her two canines, Eko and Salty.Casey’s Instagram post noted that “most mornings” she takes the pair of dogs for a walk at Camerons Bight beach. “They love to explore the little jetty, but today they weren’t allowed on the jetty because we had a very special visitor,” her caption noted.The seal, she said, “caused a great deal of excitement amongst the locals and tourists wanting to visit her. So the local wildlife rangers have roped off the area to ensure people keep a respectable distance so as not to disturb her while she is resting.”The footage from Casey, a
keen diver in the area’s waters, shows the seal galumphing along the pier, before dropping back in the water. Additional footage then shows the seal enjoying a snooze on the beach. Credit: Jules Casey via Storyful