The Old Lock and Weir pub, nestled along the banks of the River Avon just outside Bristol, England, had an unusual guest show up on Sunday, January 2—a seal pup estimated to be between six and twelve months old.
The young seal swam up to the riverside pub around 11:30 in the morning, much to the shock of the staff.
“It was amazing. Totally out of the blue,” said general manager Dan Rawlins, speaking with the BBC. “It’s not every day you expect to find a baby seal outside the pub,” added bar and kitchen worker John Jefferies.
The friendly visitor, quickly nicknamed Nacho by the pub staff, appeared quite at ease around people. “He was moving around quite a lot and didn’t seem too bothered about all the people around,” Rawlins told The Dodo.
Some suspected that Nacho was drawn to the pub’s kitchen in search of a meal. “As he was underweight, [he was] obviously attracted to the pub kitchen,” Rawlins speculated. “We’re guessing he was hungry. Maybe he wanted some fish and chips or our signature prawn cocktail?”
After photos of Nacho were shared on the pub’s Facebook page, regulars joked that he had certainly earned a meal and a drink.
“Awww, bless. Wish I’d been there to see him, he’s gorgeous! So glad he’s safe now. Didn’t he get a free pint and some fish after traveling all that way to visit you?” wrote one commenter, Marilyn Williams.
“Bless him! Amazing work by all involved. He definitely deserves a nice whiskey to warm the cockles and a couple of fish before heading back to Scotland!” added another, Christian Wiltshire.
Following advice from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), the pub staff guided Nacho back toward the river at high tide, and he swam off. But the story didn’t end there.
An hour later, Nacho was back—this time right at the pub’s front door. “He’d come up the slipway, straight under the gate, and when we spotted him again, he was right outside the pub,” Rawlins told The Scotsman.
To keep him safe, the staff used pallets to create a small pen and wrapped him in wet blankets for comfort until help arrived. British Divers Marine Life Rescue soon retrieved the pup and transported him to RSPCA West Hatch for treatment.
A scan of Nacho’s tag revealed that he had traveled an astonishing 300 miles from Scotland. He had also lost a significant amount of weight, dropping from 73 pounds at the time of tagging to just 31 pounds. On top of that, he was suffering from seal pox, which had caused some hair loss.
Thankfully, Nacho is now receiving care, and once he gains enough weight, he’ll be released back into the wild. While he didn’t get the chance to sample any of the pub’s famous dishes, he’s on the road to recovery.
The RSPCA shared an update on his progress, writing, “Nacho has come along really well since then and is enjoying a rest after his journey to the pub. He is eating well and is now 16.4 kg [36 pounds]. This means he will soon be moved into our larger pool, along with another one of our seals called Wool, so they can socialize with the other seals in there and get ready for release.”
With any luck, Nacho will be back in the sea soon—though perhaps with a few fun pub stories to tell his fellow seals!