Videos: In South Australia Fur Seals and Humans are Getting Too Close for Comfort

Just hours before the animal was hit by a speed boat during the SA Ski Racing titles at Murray Bridge, spectators had been delighted at the sight of the animal in the inland city about 80 kilometres north of the ocean.

The sighting above and the proceeding tragedy came just a few weeks after a lost baby seal found its way to a farm near Strathalbyn to Adelaide’s east, about 25 miles from the nearest ocean. How he got so far inland is still a mystery but in our opinion someone must have taken him and driven him this far inland and for whatever reason released him onto the farm. View the news report below

Fairfax Media reports honorary research associate at the South Australian Museum said the appearance of the seals so far out of their natural habitats in South Australia was actually good news.

"I think we should be celebrating such things, these fur seal populations are recovering in South Australia,” he said. "It's most likely a long-nosed fur seal; there's been quite a lot of reports in the last few years of seals getting up past the barrages at Goolwa.”

There are an estimated 100,000 New Zealand fur seals living in South Australia at the moment. But while it’s a sign of a healthy population, professional fishers are often no as happy about the increased competition for their catch.

But it is always dangerous for the seals. Shortly after the discovery of the seal in the cow farm, wildlife experts rushed to the rescue of another one in Port Augusta, South Australia, which was being tormented by children.

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