A young seal pup decided to take a nap under a car in the Wellington Police Maritime Unit car park.

A baby seal is in police custody after being caught loitering under a car outside the barracks.

Senior Sergeant Dave Houston said a passerby spotted a little trespasser's face poking out from underneath a car at the Wellington Maritime Police Unit at Queens Wharf on Friday afternoon.

"We went to see and he was under the car – he's a little fella."

MIKE PRYCE A seal entertains police officers at Wellington's Queen's wharf.

When the car's owner returned, he looked bemused to find police surrounding his car, poking a broom underneath it, Houston said.

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1 of 3 NZ POLICE Steve just wants his mother. 2 of 3 MIKE PRYCE The suspect's getting away! 3 of 3 NZ POLICE He's in the bag and understood to be facing charges of trespassing while cute.



"We asked him if it was his seal. He said it wasn't."

The pup was lucky someone had spotted him, Houston said, as the driver was unlikely to have seen him: "He could have been squashed."

It had been seen sitting alone on the rocks near the barracks in recent days, Houston said.

NZ POLICE Snapped: loitering outside a police station.

The police looked after the seal, which they named Steve, until the Department of Conservation (DOC) arrived.

Houston was unsure about patting him: "He is a little bit bitey."

When DOC staff arrived, they told the officers the seal was about the age at which mothers set pups free to explore alone, and they tended to get a bit tired, Houston said.

DOC planned to take the seal to the south coast and release it.