Seal of approval: I prefer the sea

After capturing the world’s attention by languishing in suburban Auckland streets, the infamous Papakura seal has been set free.

The seal was removed from a car wash where it had been napping for most of yesterday, and taken to Karioitahi Beach on the the west coast in the afternoon.

Auckland Zoo and Department of Conservation staff moved the seal via a cage on a truck, after nearly two days of a full-scale emergency service response to the rogue creature’s surprising appearance on a suburban street.

Papakura residents woke on Monday to find the seal, believed to be a fur seal, waddling its way into the middle of the road, with the callout to Coles Cres coded a “mammal hazard”.

Police, Department of Conservation and Auckland Zoo staff turned up to move the seal and the Fire Service was also at the scene. By lunchtime on Monday it had been herded to the reserve estuary. Then yesterday morning it resurfaced at the U Wash Papakura on Great South Rd.

Hnzherald.co.nz Watch video of the seal’s antics here:

tinyurl.com/ returnoftheseal

A parody Twitter account quickly surfaced, and @papakuraseal chronicled the seal’s adventures.

“They’ve got me sealed in for a road trip, and I can tell you, it’s not exactly Air NZ business class,” it tweeted after news of the trip to the beach.

A second tweet said: “They may take me to a secluded beach — but they’ll never take . . . OUR FREEDOM!”

There has been speculation that the bitter chill on Monday night forced the seal to seek shelter. However, seals have a thick layer of blubber to insulate internal organs and grow new skin each year to prevent damaged layers losing heat.