Seal in the city: 'Very determined' animal stops traffic in Wellington

A “very determined little seal” was spotted crossing the road in downtown Wellington last night, with traffic briefly coming to a halt as police ushered the creature to safety.

Wellington local Wendy said she spotted the seal on Waterloo Quay near Hnry Stadium when she was driving into the city on Saturday evening.

“I saw these flashing lights of a police car and I actually thought, ‘oh they’re doing a breath check’,” she said.

“Then I saw these young women were stepping out onto the road, and I was like, ‘well that’s a bit odd’.”

It was then that she saw a seal trying to make its way across the road towards Wellington Station.

“I was like, oh my goodness! I slowed right down and stopped. That’s when I took out the camera.

“That part of town is only really busy either before or after a game at Hnry Stadium. I’ve never seen a seal in that part of town before.”

A seal was spotted trying to cross the road in downtown Wellington.

She said the police officer used cones to try to “persuade” the seal back in the other direction towards the water, while others were acting as “seal guardians”.

“I do wonder, there must be a family of seals somewhere looking for it, but it was heading right towards the train station, and it was very determined.”

After realising she was herself holding up a bit of traffic, Wendy got back in her car and drove away.

“I don’t know if it’s a good omen, but you know there’s $10 million going on Powerball, so I did go and buy a ticket. Fingers crossed.”

Seals and other marine mammals occasionally pop up in unusual places across New Zealand.

In December last year, a heavily pregnant sea lion was found taking a snooze on a suburban Dunedin doorstep.

In 2022, a fur seal chased a cat into a Mount Maunganui marine biologist’s lounge.

The Department of Conservation has asked people to report sightings of seals, fur seals or sea lions on or near roads, which can help “map hotspots and better understand the risks”.