A seal has made itself at home by one of the entrances to a popular Wellington beach - but the Department of Conservation (DoC) is urging Wellingtonians to leave it alone.
Twitter page OrientalBayNZ posted a photo on Sunday morning showing a large seal lying by the steps at west entrance to Oriental Bay.
DoC told Newshub on Sunday it had received reports from the public about the seal.
"This morning, we received reports from the public informing us about a New Zealand fur seal spotted at Oriental Parade, that has a barb, of some description, in its neck," DoC told Newshub.
OrientalBayNZ posted a close-up photo of the barb, asking if it "could be from a stingray?"
DoC said they are aware of the situation, but have decided not to approach the seal yet.
"Our local team is aware of the situation, and at this stage, we are adopting our hands-off approach and not intervening," DoC said.
"We thank the public for their reports and support this morning, but we're also asking people to leave the seal be, and give it some space so it can rest."
The Twitter page also urged Wellingtonians to avoid approaching the seal after a kid went up to it.
"Best to give it space, it just took a warning swipe at a curious kid," the post said.
At the time of writing, it's not clear whether the seal is still by the west entrance of Oriental Bay.
