A baby fur seal is recovering at the zoo after an Australian cattle farmer found him on his land Tuesday.
Eric Neumann told The Advertiser that he discovered the seal pup, which veterinarians estimate to be 18 months old, in a cattle paddock earlier this week. He said he went to check on the livestock after he noticed they were acting strangely.
"The cows were causing a bit of a ruckus," Neumann told 7 News Australia. "Just mooing and carrying on."
Neumann's farm is in Bletchley, about about 21 miles from the ocean. He said he had no idea how the little guy ended up there. Officials haven't ruled out the possibility that someone may have dumped the seal in the farmer's field.
"It's an absolute mystery. I've not seen or heard of this kind of thing in my entire life," he told 7 News.
Neumann called officials from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, who came to the farm and retrieved the lost seal, according to the Advertiser.
The baby seal was then taken to the Adelaide Zoo for a veterinary checkup. Staff there said that the seal had no injuries, though he weighed about half of what's considered normal for his age. He'll remain there for the time being while he gets his strength back, vets told 7 News.
"[We'll] see if he's all right to be re-released, or [if he'll] have to be rehabilitated for a bit of time before we can let him go," Paul Gillen, spokesman for the South Australia Department of Natural Resources, said in an interview with 7 News.
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