Seal blocks traffic near major highway in South Canterbury

A seal is disrupting traffic near a major highway in Timaru.

On Thursday night a police spokeswoman said officers were attending a call out on Campbell Rd in the South Island town, near State Highway 1.

A seal was blocking both lanes of traffic, they said. Police were working to get both lanes open as of 7.30pm. Supplied video footage showed the apparent fur seal sitting in the middle of the road while multiple patrol cars and motorists looked on.

Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency spokesperson Frances Adank said its roading contractors were responding, but the lead agencies were police and the Department of Conservation.

Two weeks ago a seal turned up on Timaru’s South Beach, attracting about 10 residents from nearby properties.

The department’s marine science advisor Laura Boren said in June that reports had been flooding in from around the country of adventurous seals turning up in unusual areas.