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Seal found napping on car in Tasmania recently evicted from fish farm

A large fur seal found atop a car in Tasmania on Boxing Day has had previous run-ins with authorities.

Photos of the 200-kilogram seal that mounted and smashed up a car parked in a Launceston driveway spread quickly online before Department of Primary Industries workers were able to tranquilise and remove the animal.

"We're sealious... Parks & Wildlife Service advise that the recovery and relocation of the seal from Penquite Road, Newstead, may take most of this morning," state police said on Facebook as the beast roamed around the town.

The large seal is on the loose in Launceston. Source: Tasmania Police
The large seal is on the loose in Launceston. Source: Tasmania Police
It mounted a Toyota Camry in a driveway. Source: Tasmania Police
It mounted a Toyota Camry in a driveway. Source: Tasmania Police

A DPI spokesman told the ABC the mammal dubbed "Lou-seal" by police has a history of trespassing, after it broke into a fish farm earlier in 2016.

They said its move along notice from the farm was unlikely to be the explanation for its suburban vandalism.

"Although marking on the seal indicated historically he had at one time been relocated from a southern fish farm, it is unlikely that relocation was responsible for his presence at the property in Launceston on Boxing Day," the spokesman said.

The mammal left its mark on the Camry. Source: Tasmania Police
The mammal left its mark on the Camry. Source: Tasmania Police
Some would call it a seal of disapproval. Source: Tasmania Police
Some would call it a seal of disapproval. Source: Tasmania Police

The spokesman said although seals were in higher numbers in the area at this time of year while the swarm to northern Tasmanian waters to breed, the number of seals that need to relocated from fish farms, were generally low.

It was not confirmed whether the "Lou-seal" was serial trespasser at fish farms, but the ABC reports 232 seals were removed in 2015 from pens owned by the state's giant salmon farming corporations Huon Aquaculture and Tassal.

Almost half of the seals were recaptures.

Sammy the seal turned up in Devonport. Source: Devonport Council
Sammy the seal turned up in Devonport. Source: Devonport Council
Sammy was released back to the sea. Source: Devonport Council
Sammy was released back to the sea. Source: Devonport Council

The DPI spokesman said it was not unusual for seals to turn up in odd places while they search for females and solitude.

"Over recent years there have been a number of seals relocated from urban areas around the Launceston area during this period," he said.

The seal was found in a paddock near grazing cows. Photo: NPWS
The seal was found in a paddock near grazing cows. Photo: NPWS
National Parks and Wildlife rangers transported the animal back to the ocean. Photo: NPWS
National Parks and Wildlife rangers transported the animal back to the ocean. Photo: NPWS

In late July a 120 kilogram seal was found napping in cemetery toilet in the northwest Tasmanian city of Devonport.

In November a New Zealand fur seal turned up in the middle of a paddock in Bega on the NSW south coast, 14 kilometres inland.