Mayhem as Elephant seal size of car parks up in Chilean town

Curfew has emboldened animals like the elephant seal to take to the streets. Photo / Manuel Novoa, Facebook

When a three-tonne Elephant seal parks up in your neighbourhood, you know about it.

On Monday, residents of the town of Puerto Cisnes, in Chilean Patagonia were surprised to discover the giant marine mammal - shimmying up the streets of the residential area.

The confused animal had come ashore and beached itself on a curbside. It's easy to get an impression of the size of the creature from pictures of it, lumbering beside parked cars.

Following the coronavirus crisis Chile has enforced a curfew on urban areas. As the streets emptied of humans after hours, it appears the ungainly animal decided to move in. In spite of its lack of grace on land.

Eventually residents and volunteers from the nearby Chilean navy barracks banded together in an effort to move it safely back to the ocean.

#ahora elefante marino en las calles de Pto Cisnes pic.twitter.com/f0z7b469tC

— Canal11 Puerto Aysén (@canal11aysen) October 6, 2020

Holding black tarpaulin and following with emergency vehicles, they were able to shepherd the creature back down a network of streets, towards the water. Eventually it made a lumber back into the sea and was gone. Well before curfew.

"My son noticed first and at first I was scared, but since they move slowly, I stayed calm and told him to record it," a bystander told the Argentinian news website Infobae. "I've never seen one up close, let along in the middle of the street."

Sergant José Muñoz of the Chilean navy thanked volunteers for their help. He told the Spanish news agency EFE that the navy will be "carrying out constant patrols so that he doesn't come back and to avoid any accidents."

Male elephant seals can weigh up to four tonnes, and are known for their massive noses and fierce physical rivalry over the females -which are about a third the size.

Un joven puma de un año de edad sorprendido en una calle de Santiago, Chile (AFP, 2020) pic.twitter.com/m7kMm9VD1H

— CRCiencia (@CRCiencia) April 6, 2020

Since the Chilean government in Santiago declared the curfew in response to Covid 19, many cities have been reporting sightings of emboldened wildlife in urban centres.
Seven reports of Puma mountain lions have been made in the city of 6 million, roaming the streets.

"They sense less noise and are also looking for new places to find food and some get lost and appear in the cities," the country's director of livestock and agriculture said regarding the invasion of big cats.