Cape Town - Even Cape Town’s marine life is trying to get some of the city’s festive cheer this year as Santa the seal brought laughter to those sitting in traffic in Jakes Gerwel Drive this morning where she was found crossing the busy intersection in Athlone opposite the Vangate Mall.
Cape of Good Hope SPCA chief inspector Jaco Pieterse said: “It seems not even Cape Town’s wildlife is immune to the Christmas spirit! At a time of year when the shops are packed and companies are vying for our attention with all kinds of gimmicks in order to sell the latest fad, we are quite used to seeing strange things at the malls, but when our Wildlife Department received a call about a Cape fur seal crossing the busy Jakes Gerwel Drive opposite the Vangate Mall in Athlone this morning, even we had to wonder.”
At the scene, Pieterse and inspector Lwazi Ntungele found a large adult female Cape fur seal wandering about into traffic while attracting a crowd of bemused onlookers. Metro police were also on scene controlling the traffic to keep the animal safe.
Safety and security Mayco member JP Smith said various enforcement services secured the scene and awaited the arrival of the SPCA Wildlife Unit.
“The mysterious circumstances of its arrival will be investigated by the SPCA. The Cape fur seal is only found around our local waters and is one of the strongest, most muscular seals. When provoked, it can deliver a nasty bite,” Smith said.
The SPCA inspectors conducted a quick health assessment and were on their way to the nearest quiet beach to release the seal where it could recover from its ordeal in peace.
Pieterse said how a seal got to be there in the first place, so far from the ocean, will remain a mystery.
“One theory is that it had swum into a canal and was washed further away by strong currents, or that it was intended to be an unusual Christmas gift for someone’s mother-in-law and then merely dumped when its captor saw the price of fish!
“Either way, Santa the seal (as she was named by onlookers), skipped into the water and swam off with a wave of her flipper. Her Christmas shopping will have to wait,” Pieterse said.
The Cape of Good SPCA reminded people not to approach any wild animal, especially Cape fur seals, which are quite aggressive and will not hesitate to bite when cornered or feeling threatened.
Pieterse said: “Santa the seal would like you to join her in appealing to the spirit of the season and sharing her appreciation for the work our Wildlife Team performs (for not only seals) by making a festive donation to the SPCA – www.capespca.co.za/donate.”
kristin.engel@inl.co.za