A seal made its way through Papakura streets on 30 June, until police and the Department of Conservation rangers caught up with it in Coles Crescent. Photo: Supplied photos/ Preity Nabi
A wandering seal that roamed the streets of South Auckland on Friday has been released back into the wild.
The young male wrangled with police and the Department of Conservation (DOC) staff after wandering into a KFC carpark in Papakura, and later onto someone's property.
The seal was taken to Muriwai Beach in West Auckland and set free that night, DOC said.
Biodiversity ranger Shelley Ogle said once it was caught, it was well behaved.
"We drove the seal over to Muriwai Beach and worked with Auckland Council over there and once we opened the cage, it actually took off straight into the ocean, which is the best outcome we could've hoped for," Ogle said.
This time of year was called 'silly seal season', because the animals tend to explore more unusual areas, DOC said.
Young seals in particular were more likely to find themselves in strange places, because they were still learning, Ogle said.
A seal made it's way through Papakura streets on 30 June, until police and DoC rangers caught up with it in Coles Crescent. Photo: Supplied/ Preity Nabi