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When airport foreman Scott Babcock went out onto the runway at Wiley Post-Will Rogers Memorial Airport in Utqiagvik, Alaska, on Monday to clear some snow, he was surprised to find a visitor waiting for him on the asphalt: a 450-pound bearded seal chilling in the milky sunshine. “It was very strange to see the seal. I’ve seen a lot of things on runways, but never a seal,” Babcock told ABC News. His footage of the hefty mammal went viral after he posted it on Facebook.

According to local TV station KTVA, animal control was called in and eventually moved the seal with the help of a “sled.” Normal air traffic soon resumed, the station said. Poking fun at the seal’s surprise appearance, the Alaska Department of Transportation warned pilots on Tuesday of “low sealings” in the North Slope region — a pun on “low ceilings,” a term used to describe low clouds and poor visibility.