Sea Lions Returning To New Zealand

New Zealand sea lions were once found across the country, but the majority of them were wiped out after New Zealand become inhabited. For a minimum of 300 years, no pup births were recorded anywhere on mainland New Zealand. Then in 1994, a sea lion from the Auckland Islands, gave birth to a pup at Taieri Mouth, south Otago coast.
In 2003, a small breeding population was established in the Catlins. Approximately 12,000 sea lions are believed to live in New Zealand’s subantarctic region.
The cause of the decline of sea lions has been attributed to bycatch of trawl-fishing operations and their vulnerability to overhunting, due to being big, slow-breeding mammals.
Department of Conservation ranger Louise Chilvers has known tagged male pups to commute from the subantarctic in January and turn up in Otago in August. That is 630 kilometres!
Compared to fur seals, who are not endangered, the recovery of New Zealand sea lions on the mainland has been slow. Jordana Whyte from New Zealand Sea Lion Trust states “I think people are starting to develop an understanding of how special they are, and how lucky we are to share our spaces with them. If we can keep safeguarding our females the way we have been for the last couple of generations, we’re putting them in a really good position."

Initially reported by Bill Morris from New Zealand Geographic.
Photo is my own and was taken in the Catlins.