WATCH | Cape fur seal halts traffic near shopping mall several kilometres from the ocean

Capetonians were bewildered to cross paths early on Wednesday with a Cape fur seal attempting to navigate a busy road several kilometres from the ocean.

Metro police intervened to direct traffic after the adult seal was spotted on Jakes Gerwel Drive opposite Vangate Mall in Athlone.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) was alerted and responded immediately.

“At a time of year when the shops are packed and companies are vying for attention with all sorts of gimmicks to sell the latest fad, we are used to seeing strange things at the malls, but when the Cape of Good Hope SPCA wildlife department received a call about a Cape fur seal crossing the busy Jakes Gerwel Drive ... even we had to wonder,” said the SPCA.

“Arriving at the scene, SPCA chief inspector Jaco Pieterse and inspector Lwazi Ntungele found a large adult female Cape fur seal wandering about into traffic while attracting a crowd of onlookers. The City of Cape Town’s metro police were on the scene, controlling traffic to keep the animal safe.”

The inspectors put the seal in a crate, assessed its health and released it at the nearest beach “where it can recover from its ordeal in peace”.

How the creature ended up where it did is, for now, a mystery.

“One theory is it swam into a canal and was washed further away by strong currents, or it was intended to be an unusual Christmas gift for someone’s mother-in-law and then dumped when its captor saw the price of fish,” quipped the SPCA.

“Either way, Santa the seal (as she was named by onlookers), skipped into the water and swam off with a wave of a flipper. Her Christmas shopping will have to wait.”

The SPCA cautioned the public not to approach wild animals, especially Cape fur seals,  which can be aggressive and bite when cornered or feeling threatened.

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