A large wayward seal has made itself at home at a south-west Victorian dairy farm, 30 minutes away from the nearest beach.
The farm owners, Karli and Brad McGee, Simpson, Vic, were shocked to spot the seal in a paddock in the inland rural bush setting on Sunday.
The large mammal is male and it's estimated to weigh between 150 and 160 kilograms.
"We're a 30-minute drive from the beach so we're not close to the ocean," Mrs McGee said.
"We're nowhere near the beach."
She said it's thought the seal made its way from the coast near Princetown, Vic, through Kennedys Creek and into bushland that adjoins their property.
"We were shocked," Mrs McGee said.
"The bush has rivers and creeks running through it. It's obviously come down there.
"Who knows how long it's been in the rivers for?
"We've just happened to see it. It's in the middle of a plain, green paddock.
"It's literally walking everywhere. It's not swimming."
Mrs McGee said the couple was in the dairy yard on Sunday when they saw something moving in the distance.
"We thought we better go over there because we didn't have any cows in there," Mrs McGee said.
"What is that moving in the paddock? We were going towards it thinking 'it has to be a cow. Is it a pig? No it was a seal."
She said the seal was travelling inland across the 160-hectare property with the 300 resident cows unsure of the newest arrival.
"The cows are in the paddock and the cows are scared of it," she said.
"The cows didn't know what to do."
She said the couple was worried how the seal would get home and its food sources while it was visiting the farm.
"We don't know if it's eating eels or what it's chasing out here," she said.
"It's more about getting it back to somewhere safe."
The family got in touch with fisheries officers on Sunday who referred them to the Melbourne Zoo with its team keeping an eye on the seal's welfare.
"Because its not distressed and it doesn't look like it's deteriorating they're not in a hurry," Mrs McGee said.
"We've got to monitor it every day and send them photos."
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She said a team from the Melbourne Zoo was yet to confirm when they would arrive to collect the seal but thought it could be Wednesday or Thursday.
"The creeks on the farm aren't big so we're hoping they'll come and get it because we're not near the ocean and it's a long way back."
Recent rain has left the paddocks under water which will prove challenging for rescuers.
"If they come from Melbourne we're going to have to try and lift it out with people and try to sling it out, because it's so wet here we can't get vehicles in. We're going to have to cart it out to get it to a vehicle."
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