Newfoundland Town Overrun by Confused Seals
Credit to Author: Mack Lamoureux| Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2019 20:46:00 +0000
A small Newfoundland town has been forced to call in the feds after a group of confused seals stranded inland took over the place.
Ever since Christmas, the fine people of Roddickton-Bide Arm have seen the goofy little animals making their ways to gas stations, hanging out in parking lots, and in some cases, making their way to the front of people’s homes.
It’s not all fun and games though, at least two of the harp seals have been run over and killed by cars after the group of the animals were waylaid near the inlet town by a snap freeze of the water behind them. Sheila Fitzgerald, the mayor of Roddickton-Bide Arm, tells VICE that there at least 40 seals near the town and that number is “conservative.”
To put it frankly, her town is just fuckin’ lousy with seals.
Like them being stuck inland, seals being run over isn’t all that rare either, Stenson said. Seals, especially the younger ones, tend to wander and sometimes that will bring them to a road or highway near where they are being raised. Now, as you know, seals aren’t the most graceful animals on terra firma so they aren’t that adept at getting out of the way of an oncoming F-150. Having moving road bumps that die when you run them over isn’t the only negative thing the seals bring to Roddickton-Bide Arm.
“Even though they’re really cute in nature, sweet to look at, they can be aggressive animals so you can’t go too close to them,” said Fitzgerald. “We’ve been encouraging residents to stay away from the seals because they bark and they hiss and they get upset and they could bite.”
Stenson adds that while it’s rare for a harp seal to get aggressive, they’re still a wild animal so it’s best practice not to mess with them when you see them. The town has brought their concerns to the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife and Fitzgerald says she’s been very pleased with their response. They’ve sent in three wildlife agents to assist the towns and seals and will move them out when they can.
“What you would like to see is the ice to break up in which case they would find their own way out, that depends on the weather though,” said Stenson. “The other option is there are fishery officers out there and whenever possible they will catch them and move them.”
In the meantime, he adds, the town should just “enjoy seeing some seals in their area.”
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