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On a leisurely Sunday, while you might have indulged in thoughts about sea creatures and their escapades in human territories, the notion of a New Zealand fur seal pup waddling into a Richmond pub (in New Zealand, not the other Richmonds you may know) likely didn’t cross your mind.
Yet, that’s exactly the unexpected adventure that unfolded. This young fur seal managed to make its way into a bar and amusingly squeezed itself beneath the dishwasher. Perhaps he was disgruntled about being too young to partake in seal-level social drinking.
Whatever drove this seal to embark on its pub adventure, it didn’t seem as though he intended to make it a regular haunt. Lacking a smartphone, he wasn’t there to snap a whimsical sealfie. Perhaps he felt some inexplicable draw to the human company around him. The patrons, however, were unfazed by the surprise guest; the charming pup didn’t disrupt their enjoyment in the slightest.
The creature was apparently lost, curious and well below New Zealand’s legal drinking age. It lodged itself under the dishwasher and showed no interest in calling a cab.
It was a wet, lazy Sunday evening when the baby fur seal waddled into the Sprig + Fern The Meadows craft beer bar in Richmond, at the top of New Zealand’s South Island. Accustomed to seeing animals in the pet-friendly bar, co-owner Bella Evans assumed the visitor was a dog before she took a closer look.
“Everyone was in shock,” Evans said. “Oh my gosh. What do we do? What’s going on?”
A patron grabbed a sweater and tried to usher the seal out of the back door. Evading its pursuers, the creature dashed into a restroom and then hid under the dishwasher, which was swiftly unplugged.
Whatever his reason for invading the bar, he clearly didn’t intend to make it his porpoise in life. He didn’t appear to have a smartphone, so he wasn’t there to take a sealfie. Maybe he harbored affection for one of the human patrons? The patrons themselves didn’t seem troubled by the visit; the little guy wasn’t krilling their vibe.