International

Australian woman finds napping seal in cemetery toilet

Australian woman finds napping seal in cemetery toilet

July 27, 2016 | 10:17 AM
Parks and Wildlife officials sedated the seal, which they named Sammy.
A woman using the toilets at a local cemetery in Australia had the fright of her life after finding a large fur seal napping in the cubicle.The discovery of the 120-kilogramme animal was even more surprising as he was half a kilometre from the nearest water."We thought it was a practical joke when we were told," Karina Moore from Devonport Council in northwest Tasmania state told AFP on Wednesday."It's a big mystery. It's very unusual to find a seal so far inland."There's a small creek about half a kilometre away but he would still have had to cross a busy road and several paddocks to make it to the cemetery."The council called in Parks and Wildlife officials who sedated the seal, which they named Sammy, before moving him to a local beach and releasing him.Wildlife biologist Rachel Alderman told ABC radio Australian fur seals were common around Tasmania."They're a really abundant species all around Tasmania, particularly in Bass Strait, and we've had them turn up in paddocks, people's backyards, and now we can add a toilet block in a cemetery to the list," she said.
July 27, 2016 | 10:17 AM