It's fair to say the Ross family, who live in Mt Maunganui, New Zealand, were a little surprised after coming down the stairs last Wednesday morning. They expected to see their cat sitting in the hall, waiting for his breakfast. But instead, they received a surprise good morning from a baby sea lion.
The sea lion had wandered up from the coastline, around 250 metres from the Ross home, and crawled through a cat flap in the front door. It spent the night exploring the house and hassling the family cat, Coco, who eventually did the smart thing and hid behind the sofa.
Good morning Mr Seal!
Phil Ross thinks the pup wandered up to the house and then chased Coco through the cat flap.
"The cat would have gone to defend its territory, and obviously the sea lion wasn't as intimidated as some dogs are, so Coco must have bolted around the side of the house, into the catflap, and the sea lion must have followed her," said Mr Ross.
But the intrusion might not have been as random as it looks. Phil Ross is actually a marine biologist. It's his job to monitor the local seal population and find new ways to keep it safe.
Phil knew exactly who to call, but specially trained staff from the Department of Conservation were out on other calls. So Phil and his family had to entertain their unexpected visitor for a few hours.
Oscar returns to the sea
Oscar, as the family decided to call him, spent most of the time chilling in the front room before eventually exiting back through the cat flap to catch some sun in the garden. He was still there when an animal ranger turned up.
Oscar the sea lion was safely returned to the sea, and the Ross family got their home back. The only one still having a rough time is Coco the cat. He spent the next three days hiding upstairs and hasn't been in the front garden since. Poor guy!
