{"id":325956,"date":"2025-12-05T00:42:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T00:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/325956\/"},"modified":"2025-12-05T00:42:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T00:42:09","slug":"unlikely-animal-visitor-breaks-into-a-bar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/325956\/","title":{"rendered":"Unlikely Animal Visitor Breaks Into a Bar"},"content":{"rendered":"

A baby seal wriggled its way into a New Zealand bar this week and led confused staff members on a brief chase through the establishment. The fur seal surprised guests on Sunday evening at the craft beer bar, Sprig + Fern The Meadows, in Richmond. \u201cEveryone was in shock,\u201d said co-owner Bella Evans. \u201cOh my gosh. What do we do? What\u2019s going on?\u201d Evans told the Associated Press that she initially thought the creature was a dog entering the pet-friendly bar. Someone tried to use a sweater to get the seal to go out the bar\u2019s back door, but it instead took a detour to the bathroom. Then, the semi-aquatic creature hid under the dishwasher. A customer grabbed a dog crate from home, and Evans tried to use one of the bar\u2019s pizza toppings to entice the seal out of hiding. \u201cI just went to my fianc\u00e9, I said, grab the salmon! Grab the salmon!\u201d Evans told 9Now<\/a>. Conservation rangers eventually arrived, revealing that they had already been tracking the seal after earlier sightings. It was released on Rabbit Island, a nearby island considered safe because it has no dogs, said Department of Conservation spokesperson Helen Otley.<\/p>\n

A baby seal, apparently lost, curious and well below New Zealand\u2019s legal drinking age, galumphed into a bar before being removed by rangers with the help of a dog crate and some salmon. pic.twitter.com\/B9RVzKWaKw<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 The Associated Press (@AP) December 4, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Read it at Associated Press<\/a>