Chileans rally to rescue elephant seal that got stranded in town [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

Huge creature took wrong turn after coming ashore and ended up in suburbs of Puerto Cisnes

Sam Jones
@swajones
Wed 7 Oct 2020 08.14 EDT Last modified on Wed 7 Oct 2020 23.37 EDT

Chile’s overnight curfew, declared at the end of March to help curb the spread of Covid-19 through the narrow South American country, has not been universally observed by all species. Emboldened by the lack of people and cars, seven mountain lions have been captured on the streets of Santiago in recent months. Now it appears the large cats are not the only creatures keen for a change of scene.

On Monday night, the residents of Puerto Cisnes, a coastal town 1,500km (932 miles) south of the capital, were treated to the decidedly un-swanlike spectacle of a two-tonne elephant seal hauling itself through their neighbourhoods at a surprisingly decent clip.

The elephant seal, which had become disorientated after coming ashore, was eventually helped back into the sea after dozens of neighbours, police and naval officers used black tarpaulins to drive it towards the water.

“I was a bit startled to begin with, but because they move slowly, I calmed down and told my son to film it,” a local woman called Antonia told the Argentinian online newspaper Infobae.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/07/chileans-rally-to-rescue-elephant-seal-that-got-stranded-in-town















Hooray for Puerto Cisnes!