A South Australian farmer has released a baby seal back into the ocean after finding it in a wheat crop on a farm near Cowell on the Eyre Peninsula.
Farmer Ty Kayden was called by his neighbour on Thursday morning, who said he had found a seal on his driveway, 3km inland from the sea.
“My neighbour called me up, he said ‘you have to come and have a look at this’. I thought he said a baby cow is in my driveway. He goes, no, it’s a baby seal,” Kayden said.
“I was like you’re kidding, we better come for a look.”
FAR FROM HOME: Cowell farmer Ty Kayden found a BABY SEAL in his wheat crop this morning. The crop is about 3km’s from the ocean! Hear about it soon on the Country Hour @ABCRural @abcadelaide @abcnews pic.twitter.com/QyWhN2Di2y
— Rhett Burnie (@RhettBurnie) July 7, 2022
The closest seal colony is about 80km up the coastline, he said. Kayden’s family have been farming in the area for more than 60 years and have never seen one come this far inland.
“We pulled up and there is this tiny little three-foot seal [around 91cm], sitting right on the edge of the wheat crop,” Kayden said.
“Three kilometres is a long way from the ocean – it’s a small two-wheel track to the beach. I have no idea how it got there or what it had been doing.”
Kayden said the seal looked skinny, but it was lucky to be alive as foxes were common in the area at the moment.
There was no animal welfare organisation nearby, so rather than leave the seal in the middle of the crop they took him back to the beach as they thought this was best.
“We have nothing like RSPCA around us, the only thing we could do was take him back to the beach and get him moving,” he said.
“We got a towel and just dropped it over its head and scooped it up and put it in a tub in the back of the ute.”
Kayden and his workman took the seal to the beach, where it was high tide. At first it didn’t want to go, but they gave it a gentle nudge and the seal took off in the shallow water.
“Hopefully it’s had a big feed of king whiting and is looking a bit fatter,” Kayden said.
South Australian waters are home to Australian sea lions, long-nosed fur seals and Australian fur seals but get other species visiting the coast.
President of the Marine Life Society of South Australia Steve Reynolds said it was likely a Longnose New Zealand fur seal, which can walk on their flippers.
An RSPCA spokesperson said if anyone comes across a sick or injured creature it was always a good idea to call the local vet or wildlife organisation.
“They should be able to provide advice on what to do with the animal, including advising whether you should attempt to handle the animal and if so how to do so, as well as ensuring the animal receives appropriate treatment if they are sick or injured.”
