Summer is Breeding Season

New Zealand sea lions are philopatric - the adults return to the beaches they were born to breed. Bulls (males) arrive in November and must fight one another to defend their territory and hold a harem. Pregnant cows (females) arrive in December and give birth within one week of arrival. Approximately two weeks after giving birth, females are ready to mate. Their gestation period is approximately ten months. Females will spend the first year of their pups lives alternating between foraging trips at sea and periods on land suckling their pup.