Students attempt to rescue rogue seal pup from busy Papatoetoe street

Ōtara students try to stop a seal pup from heading into busy traffic.

Students in Auckland’s Ōtara had an interesting afternoon as they attempted to save a lost seal pup from running into traffic.

A video emerged on social media this evening of the students using their jackets to shepherd the young pup away from the busy Bairds Rd.

“Stop the cars!” one person can be heard yelling.

The spectacle drew quite a crowd as the students blocked traffic while the animal made a dangerous dash into the middle of the street.

The video ends abruptly with the seal stranded in the middle of the road, with social media users left wondering if the seal ever made it to safety.

Ōtara students attempted to help a seal pup this afternoon.

It is theorised the seal’s adventure began in the small nearby waterway which is connected to the East Tāmaki Estuary.

The Department of Conservation (DoC) has been approached for comment.

Lost seals around Auckland have begun popping up more frequently due to the growing population of the species in the area.

In July, a kekeno (NZ fur seal) was spotted near the waterfront in Remuera. It had chosen a comfy patch of grass in the Portland Rd Reserve to rest after making its way upriver from Hobson Bay.

After drawing a lot of attention, the kekeno refused to move from its resting place and was eventually caught and released at Muriwai Beach.

Additionally, police and DoC staff wrangled a seal that went up a garden path - and across a street on June 30, causing a disturbance by loitering in an Auckland suburb.

Officers had to cordon off the driveway and garden of a property after the wayward seal stopped in for a rest, having made its way through Papakura.

Then around 5.30pm the seal’s big day out came to an end.

DoC staff and Auckland Zoo bundled him into a truck and drove him away to be checked over by a veterinarian.

Rachel Maher is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. She has worked for the Herald since 2022.