2-ton elephant seal takes "unexpected journey" into residential area in South Africa before safely returning to sea
A large elephant seal took a wrong turn and was seen lumbering along a street in a coastal town in South Africa early Tuesday, surprising residents and inspiring a rescue effort to get him back to sea.
The two-ton seal, which an animal welfare group said was a young male, was making his way through a suburb of Gordon's Bay near Cape Town.
Locals came out of houses and recorded videos.
"This is unreal. Hi, bro, how did you get here?" one woman asked.
Members of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) watch an elephant seal cornered on a street in Gordon's Bay, near Cape Town, South Africa, Tuesday, May 27, 2025.
/ AP
Police and a local security company attempted to contain the seal by parking patrol cars around him. He rested his huge head on the hood of one car and half-climbed over another before slipping free, crossing a road and carrying on up a sidewalk.
The seal eventually stopped next to a shopping mall. Animal welfare officials worried he was too far from the ocean to find his way back and might become exhausted and dehydrated. They estimated he weighed around two tons (4,400 pounds). Elephant seals can grow to twice that size.
According to the local Cape of Good Hope SPCA, southern elephant seals are the world's largest seal species and are commonly found in sub-Antarctic regions — not South Africa. But every once in a while, lone elephants seals -- usually young males -- make their way to South Africa's coast.
A team of marine wildlife specialists and a city veterinarian sedated the seal and guided him into an animal transport trailer to be returned to his natural habitat at a nearby bay.
The Cape of Good Hope SPCA later posted a video on social media of the seal making his way down a beach and toward the ocean.
"Sea you later," the video said.
Staff members of the Marine Unit with Shark Spotters facilitate the transportation of an elephant seal that found its way into a residential area in Gordon's Bay, near Cape Town, South Africa, Tuesday, May 27, 2025.
AP
"Wild animals don't always follow the script, and this seal's unexpected journey into a residential area created real cause for concern," Belinda Abraham, spokesperson for the local SPCA, said in a statement. "With so many moving parts — traffic, onlookers, and a massive marine mammal in distress — it took rapid coordination and clear focus to keep everyone safe."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
There's a Shocking Reason Ticks Are So Dangerous (It's Us)
When you think about ticks, you might picture nightmarish little parasites, stalking you on weekend hikes or afternoons in the park. Your fear is well-founded. Tick-borne diseases are the most prevalent vector-borne diseases – those transmitted by living organisms – in the United States. Each tick feeds on multiple animals throughout its life, absorbing viruses and bacteria along the way and passing them on with its next bite. Some of those viruses and bacteria are harmful to humans, causing diseases that can be debilitating and sometimes lethal without treatment, such as Lyme, babesiosis and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. But contained in every bite of this infuriating, insatiable pest is also a trove of social, environmental and epidemiological history. In many cases, human actions long ago are the reason ticks carry these diseases so widely today. And that's what makes ticks fascinating for environmental historians like me. During the 18th and 19th centuries, settlers cleared more than half the forested land across the northeastern U.S., cutting down forests for timber and to make way for farms, towns and mining operations. With large-scale land clearing came a sharp decline in wildlife of all kinds. Predators such as bears and wolves were driven out, as were deer. As farming moved westward, Northeasterners began to recognize the ecological and economic value of trees, and they returned millions of acres to forest. The woods regrew. Plant-eaters such as deer returned, but the apex predators that once kept their populations in check did not. As a result, deer populations grew rapidly. With the deer came deer ticks (Ixodes scapularis) carrying borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease. When a tick feeds on an infected animal, it can take up the bacteria. The tick can pass the bacteria to its next victim. In humans, Lyme disease can cause fever and fatigue, and if left untreated it can affect the nervous system. The eastern U.S. became a global hot spot for tick-borne Lyme disease starting around the 1970s. Lyme disease affected over 89,000 Americans in 2023, and possibly many more. For centuries, changing patterns of human settlements and the politics of land use have shaped the role of ticks and tick-borne illnesses within their environments. In short, humans have made it easier for ticks to thrive and spread disease in our midst. In California, the Northern Inner Coast and Santa Cruz mountain ranges that converge on San Francisco from the north and south were never clear-cut, and predators such as mountain lions and coyotes still exist there. But competition for housing has pushed human settlement deeper into wildland areas to the north, south and east of the city, reshaping tick ecology there. While western black-legged ticks (Ixodes pacificus) tend to swarm in large forest preserves, the Lyme-causing bacterium is actually more prevalent in small, isolated patches of greenery. In these isolated patches, rodents and other tick hosts can thrive, safe from large predators, which need more habitat to move freely. But isolation and lower diversity also means infections are spread more easily within the tick's host populations. People tend to build isolated houses in the hills, rather than large, connected developments. As the Silicon Valley area south of San Francisco sprawls outward, this checkerboard pattern of settlement has fragmented the natural landscape, creating a hard-to-manage public health threat. Fewer hosts, more tightly packed, often means more infected hosts, proportionally, and thus more dangerous ticks. Six counties across these ranges, all surrounding and including San Francisco, account for 44% of recorded tick-borne illnesses in California. Domesticated livestock have also shaped the disease threat posed by ticks. In 1892, at a meeting of cattle ranchers at the Stock Raiser's Convention in Austin, Texas, Dr. B.A. Rogers introduced a novel theory that ticks were behind recent devastating plagues of Texas cattle fever. The disease had arrived with cattle imported from the West Indies and Mexico in the 1600s, and it was taking huge tolls on cattle herds. But how the disease spread to new victims had been a mystery. Editors of Daniel's Texas Medical Journal found the idea of ticks spreading disease laughable and lampooned the hypothesis, publishing a satire of what they described as an "early copy" of a forthcoming report on the subject. The tick's "fluid secretion, it is believed, is the poison which causes the fever … [and the tick] having been known to chew tobacco, as all other Texans do, the secretion is most probably tobacco juice," they wrote. Fortunately for the ranchers, not to mention the cows, the U.S. Department of Agriculture sided with Rogers. Its cattle fever tick program, started in 1906, curbed cattle fever outbreaks by limiting where and when cattle should cross tick-dense areas. By 1938, the government had established a quarantine zone that extended 580 miles by 10 miles along the U.S.-Mexico border in South Texas Brush Country, a region favored by the cattle tick. This innovative use of natural space as a public health tool helped to functionally eradicate cattle fever from 14 Southern states by 1943. When it comes to tick-borne diseases the world over, location matters. Take the hunter tick (Hyalomma spp.) of the Mediterranean and Asia. As a juvenile, or nymph, these ticks feed on small forest animals such as mice, hares and voles, but as an adult they prefer domesticated livestock. For centuries, this tick was an occasional nuisance to nomadic shepherds of the Middle East. But in the 1850s, the Ottoman Empire passed laws to force nomadic tribes to become settled farmers instead. Unclaimed lands, especially on the forested edges of the steppe, were offered to settlers, creating ideal conditions for hunter ticks. As a result, farmers in what today is Turkey saw spikes in tick-borne diseases, including a virus that causes Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, a potentially fatal condition. It's probably too much to ask for sympathy for any ticks you meet this summer. They are bloodsucking parasites, after all. Still, it's worth remembering that the tick's malevolence isn't its own fault. Ticks are products of their environment, and humans have played many roles in turning them into the harmful parasites that seek us out today. Sean Lawrence, Assistant Professor of History, West Virginia University This article is republished from under a Creative Commons license. Read the . Cannabis Linked to 2x Risk of Heart Disease Death, Scientists Discover 5 Daily Habits Could Be Causing Your Liver Serious Harm FDA-Approved Sleeping Pill Slows Alzheimer's Tangles in Pre-Clinical Trial
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Much-loved Essex animal sanctuary closes to visitors amid urgent repairs
A POPULAR animal sanctuary in Brentwood has announced that it will be closing to visitors after decades of welcoming the public. Hopefield Animal Sanctuary and Visitor Centre has made the decision to close after staff found repairs and maintenance works that need attention to ensure the health and safety of visitors. The much-loved animal sanctuary is home to more than 100 species of animals and plans to reopen to visitors once the maintenance issues are resolved. We're now on WhatsApp! Join our new channel at to get all the latest breaking news and exclusive stories delivered straight to your phone. In a statement, Hopefield Animal Sanctuary said: 'Due to urgent and unavoidable repair and maintenance works that need addressing immediately, we have had to take the regrettable decision to close the sanctuary to visitors until further notice. 'We apologise for any upset or disappointment this may cause, but health and safety are our priority for visitors and residents alike. 'As soon as we are able to do so we will, of course, welcome you all back.' Hopefield Animal Sanctuary was founded 30 years ago by Paula and Ernie Clark. Read more Passengers frustrated after Southend flights re-scheduled to different airports Autistic teen left in boiling Southend school minibus for hours outside driver's home Calls for safety measures on 70mph blackspot in south Essex after 15 crashes The sanctuary provides space for rescued farm animals and pets that have found themselves without a home as well as some wild animals. Due to the maintenance issues, the sanctuary has also confirmed the cancellation of the upcoming Hopefield Hoedown. 'This decision has not been taken lightly, and we're devastated to have to do this but we also have to cancel our upcoming Hopefield Hoedown. A full refund will be given to those who have booked,' the statement read.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Rare one-in-100,000 albino squirrel spotted in Petts Wood garden
A rare one-in-100,000 albino squirrel has become a regular visitor to a south London garden. Married photography duo Giedrius and Dalia Stakauskas say they've become obsessed after spotting the critter at their Petts Wood home. Giedrius, from Orpington, says: "It was late morning in our back garden in Petts Wood, where activity is never in short supply - especially in spring and early summer. "My wife had just stepped outside to top up the bird feeders when something extraordinary caught her eye. "Perched calmly on the fence, scanning for leftover seeds and nuts, was a rare albino grey squirrel. "She gasped 'Oh my God!' before dashing indoors to grab her camera. "Incredibly, the squirrel hadn't moved an inch by the time she returned. With a still, almost deliberate pose, the white squirrel seemed to be waiting patiently to be photographed. "That moment sparked a new obsession in our household. For the past ten days, we've kept a close watch. "On five of those days, the squirrel has paid us a visit - always before late afternoon, and usually in the stillness of the morning. The squirrel came into the couples garden. (Image: Dalia & Giedrius Stakauskas / SWNS) "Her chosen retreat is an old apple tree, where she perches high above the ground, alert but unbothered. "For us, these encounters have brought a new sense of magic to our garden. "What began as a lucky moment has turned into a shared mission to photograph and protect this remarkable visitor. "It's a reminder that even in the places we think we know best - like our own back garden - nature still has the power to surprise us, if we're paying attention." Recommended Reading Beckenham woman befriends stray dog in Bali to bring home Baby beavers born in London for first time in 400 years London women 'biohacking' dogs with £1800 vegan diet Albino squirrels are extremely rare in the UK, with wildlife experts estimating the odds of one being born at about one in 100,000. There are thought to be only around 50 albino squirrels in the entire country at any given time. They are easily identified by their white fur and pink or blue eyes, a result of a genetic condition that prevents the production of melanin.
