Sea lion evaded captors to take a dip at public pool

A female sea lion caused havoc at a seaside salt water pool in Dunedin, New Zealand, on Saturday afternoon. The Department of Conservation were called to the St Clair Hot Salt Water Pool but left when it became clear the sea lion would not be moving on.



Lifeguard Ana Keelty said the animal had come over the hill from Seconds Beach nearby and had somehow managed to get through the pool doors and into the public swimming area at about 2.30pm. "Obviously we had to get everyone out of the pool pretty fast," Keelty said. 


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Much to the delight of pool-goers, the sea lion evaded capture and three hours after it arrived, was still taking dips in the lane pool. Swimmers unfortunately had to be evacuated from the water, although staff did not think the animal was dangerous unless provoked.


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The DoC worker charged with moving the animal on had left around 5pm. They were hoping the sea lion would go back to the beach of her own accord. "This is a very rare occurrence," Keelty said. "I think it's only happened once before."