A British mail carrier received an unexpected delivery when he discovered a seal pup lounging on a customer’s doorstep during his regular route.
At a Glance
- A postal worker found a two-week-old seal pup outside a home near Gorleston, England, on January 2.
- The same pup had evaded capture in a nearby car park the previous day.
- Nicknamed “Cold Call,” the underweight pup is now recovering at the RSPCA’s East Winch Wildlife Center.
- Why it matters: The rescue highlights how severe tides and birthing season separate vulnerable pups from their mothers.
The Doorstep Discovery
On the morning of Friday, January 2, a postman approached a house near Gorleston, England, and froze: a lone seal pup was sitting in the front garden, blocking the mail slot.
The mail carrier immediately contacted Marine and Wildlife Rescue, which had already been searching for the pup. The organization had received reports the previous morning that a baby seal was trying to hide under parked cars in a Riverside Road car park. When responders arrived on January 1, the animal had vanished.
Tracking ‘Cold Call’
Rescuers believe the pup slipped from the car park into an adjacent garden overnight. The short journey placed it directly on the mail carrier’s route the next day.
After the postal worker’s call, the rescue team arrived and safely captured the pup. They later named the animal “Cold Call” in recognition of the unusual encounter.
Photos shared on the Marine and Wildlife Rescue Facebook page show:
- The pup wedged beneath a red van in the car park
- The animal curled up on the doorstep
- Volunteers transporting the seal in a kennel to the wildlife center
Health Assessment
Staff estimate the female pup is roughly two weeks old and weighs about 26 pounds, significantly underweight for a seal that has already started shedding its white lanugo coat.
Dan Goldsmith of Marine and Wildlife Rescue explained why the team ruled out returning the pup to a beach.
“There was not a chance the pup could be returned to a local beach,” Goldsmith said. “She was significantly underweight for her age, especially as she had started to moult the white coat.”
The RSPCA’s East Winch Wildlife Center will provide weeks of rehabilitation, including bottle-feeding a specialty milk formula and gradual introduction to fish.
Surge in Strandings
Evangelos Achilleos, manager of the East Winch Wildlife Center, told News Of Losangeles that high tides and the peak grey-seal birthing season have triggered a spike in rescue calls.
“Sadly, some seals were swept away from their mums in the high tides or some sustained wounds from being hit against rocks,” Achilleos said. “Even now, displaced seal pups are still being rescued.”
The center currently cares for multiple pups discovered in odd locations. One patient, nicknamed Anx, was found on the edge of a muddy field.
“There have been some really curious places these seals have been found – but I have to say Cold Call is one of the more unusual,” Achilleos added.
Norfolk’s Seal Population
According to the Wildlife Trusts, Britain hosts about 40 percent of the global Atlantic grey seal population. Norfolk’s beaches serve as key birthing grounds from late October through January, when females haul out to give birth and nurse pups.
The combination of storm surges, high spring tides, and inexperienced pups increases the likelihood of separations, prompting wildlife groups to urge the public to report stranded seals rather than attempt a rescue.
Key Takeaways
- A routine mail delivery turned extraordinary when a postal worker found a lone seal pup outside a home near Gorleston.
- After evading capture in a car park, the underweight pup was rescued from the doorstep and is now rehabilitating at the RSPCA’s East Winch Wildlife Center.
- The incident underscores the challenges grey seals face during birthing season, when rough seas can wash vulnerable pups away from their mothers.
