Elephant seal found wandering down a street in South Africa

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — A large elephant seal strayed and was spotted stumbling down a street in a South African coastal town Tuesday, startling residents and inspiring a rescue effort to return it to the sea.

The two-ton young male was making its way through a Gordon's Bay suburb near Cape Town.

Locals came out of their homes and recorded videos.

"This is amazing. Hey, buddy, how did you get here?" a woman asked.

Police and a local security company attempted to contain the elephant seal by parking patrol cars around it. It placed its enormous head on the hood of a car and half climbed onto another before getting out, crossing a street, and continuing along a sidewalk.

Eventually, he stopped next to a shopping center. Animal welfare officials were concerned that he was too far from the ocean to find his way back and might become exhausted and dehydrated. They estimated he weighed about 2 tons (4,400 pounds). Elephant seals can grow to twice that size.

A team of marine wildlife specialists and a city veterinarian sedated the animal and guided it to an animal transport trailer to be returned to its natural habitat.

The Cape of Good Hope SPCA later posted a video on social media of the elephant seal walking along a beach toward the ocean.