Seal pup stops traffic in central Christchurch
Central Christchurch motorists busy avoiding icy roads almost missed a surprise visitor – a baby seal.
The pup stopped traffic on Fitzgerald Ave, near Kilmore St, about 7am yesterday.
A small group of people ushered the seal to the side of the busy road before firefighters drove down to help as it hid under a Press photographer’s vehicle.
Within minutes, firefighter Will Hutton was on hands and knees on the icy road.
‘‘[We used some] gentle persuasion with a broom stick to guide him back to the water,’’ he said.
Hutton said it ‘‘certainly was’’ strange to get called up to rescue a seal. ‘‘[The] poor chap was clearly lost, and we were happy he was safe and had no problem getting back to the water.
‘‘Thanks to the public who stopped and made the area safe for it.’’
Fire and Emergency NZ spokesman Andrew Norris said it was ‘‘definitely unusual that a seal would be that far up the [Avon] River’’.
One witness said the seal reentered the river and swam upstream towards the CBD.
Christchurch used to have a resident elephant seal named Elizabeth, who lived in the Avon River.
She was a popular attraction in the area from the late 1970s until her death from a viral infection in 1985. A book written about her was named as one of the best children’s books of 2014 by The Washington Post.
Elizabeth frequently sunbathed on the road near the river, getting up-river as far as Barbadoes St.
She was protected by the Marine Mammals Protection Act 1978, which does not allow people to move or take a marine mammal, alive or dead, from its natural habitat or any other place, unless they have obtained a permit to do so.
An individual found in breach of the act can be imprisoned for up to a year or fined up to $100,000.