Massive Elephant Seal Rescued After Being Seen Wandering Around Coastal Town
A massive elephant seal was rescued by the authorities after being seen wandering around a coastal town in Chile.
According to reports, the large elephant seal broke the overnight curfew of Chile and was found wandering around.
Con apoyo de vecinos de Puerto Cisnes, Armada y Carabineros, se logró traer de vuelta a elefante marino, que recorrió más de 10 cuadras, finalmente con lonas y más de 60 vecinos fue resguardado y llevado a su hábitat. pic.twitter.com/w5rvUzJq53
— Manuel Novoa (@Autentica995) October 6, 2020
Residents of Puerto Cisnes were surprised to see the marine mammal traveling through the streets of their town at midnight on Monday.
The seal that was rescued is believed to be around 2 tons heavy.
The seal was filmed by a number of people hefting through the roads for a few blocks before help arrived to rescue the poor mammal.
Eyewitnesses said that the seal was not aggressive and was looking like it was confused about the area that it was in.
The seal became disorientated after coming ashore, said a number of local reports.
Several videos of the massive elephant seal have flooded social media.
Yo se que estaban preocupados por el Elefante Marino, así que les comento que vecinos de Puerto Cisnes se encargaron de guiarlo de regreso al mar (video FB de Manuel Novoa). pic.twitter.com/wwXeTCTa3s
— Reinaldo Anders (@randersb) October 6, 2020
According to one tweet, the animal managed to haul itself around 10 blocks before people in the area and emergency services managed to rescue the mammal.
Navy officials, police officers, and neighbors used black tarpaulins to drive the seal back to the water, its natural habitat.
Antonia, a local woman, talked with the local news agency about the seal.
The woman said that her son was the first one to notice the animal, which was moving extremely slowly.
She added:
My son noticed first. I was scared at the beginning, but since they move slowly, I calmed down and told him to record it. I have never seen one so close, and much less in the middle of the city. We always see these animals in the sea… But what we saw here was that the animal was scared.
The seal was rescued by authorities and was placed back in the sea with extreme care.
No one was injured in the incident, confirmed local news agencies.