Seals and sea lions of Otago
Did you know six different species of seals and sea lions have been reported along the Otago coast?
Seals and sea lions are large-bodied mammals, with streamlined bodies and limbs modified into flippers.
Seals and sea lions belong to a group known as ‘pinnipeds’, which are divided into three families:
- Eared seals
Eared seals have external ears and hind flippers they can turn forward under their body, allowing them to walk on land. The flippers of eared seals have no fur on their underside. Examples of eared seals in Aotearoa New Zealand include kekeno (New Zealand fur seal) and pakake (New Zealand sea lion)
- True seals
True seals, also called earless seals, don’t have outer ears and can’t turn their back flippers forward, so they move on land by sliding on their bellies instead of walking. Their flippers are covered in fur on both sides. Examples of true seals in Aotearoa New Zealand include rāpako / popoikore (leopard seal) and ihupuku (southern elephant seal).
- Walruses
Walruses are not found in Aotearoa New Zealand, being found about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two subspecies of walrus, which live in different parts of this northern region.
In Otago, the most seen pinnipeds are New Zealand fur seals and New Zealand sea lions.
New Zealand sea lions are the world’s rarest of the world’s six sea lion species. They are only found in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Once found throughout mainland Aotearoa New Zealand's coasts, they were wiped out from the mainland and their population restricted to Maungahuka or the Auckland Islands and Motu Ihupuku or Campbell Island, both in the Subantarctic.
Since the 1990s, breeding has been recorded on the mainland only occurring just north of Ōtepoti/Dunedin, with emerging breeding locations at Rakiura/Stewart Island, Otago and Southland regions.
While the relatively small populations on the mainland and Rakiura/Stewart Island are growing, the much larger Subantarctic Island populations are declining where approximately 99% of the species' annual pup production occurs.
New Zealand seals are the most common seals in Aotearoa New Zealand.
They once bred nationwide but were almost wiped out from the mainland. They have now returned to most of the coast and breed as far north as Te Tara-o-te-Ika-a-Māui or the Coromandel Peninsula. The population of New Zealand seals is growing.
Leopard seals primarily inhabit the Antarctic pack ice, but during autumn and winter animals disperse northward throughout the Southern Ocean, sometimes visiting Aotearoa New Zealand.
The Auckland and Campbell islands are known to have leopard seals annually and the mainland regularly receives visitors, including in the Otago Region. Some animals have been known to spend a year or more continuously in Aotearoa New Zealand waters.
Southern elephant seals occasionally visit local coastlines of mainland Aotearoa New Zealand but are residents of our subantarctic islands.
On the mainland they may stay in an area for weeks or even months, including in Otago.
Others seal that has been less commonly sighted in Otago are the Weddell seal and crabeater seal.
In Otago we have six seals and sea lions. A species list can be downloaded below.
To find out more about seals and sea lions in Aotearoa New Zealand, visit the New Zealand sea lion Trust, LeopardSeal.org and Te Papa Atawhai - Department of Conservation (DOC) websites.
To contribute observation records on seals and sea lions to a participatory science platform, visit the iNaturalist platform.
New Zealand Sea Lion Trust
The New Zealand Sea Lion Trust is a volunteer non- profit community organisation supporting research on and conservation of endangered New Zealand sea lions.
LeopardSeals.org
LeopardSeals.org mission is for better protection of leopard seals in Aotearoa New Zealand waters through education, conservation and scientific research.
Te Papa Atawhai – Department of Conservation (DOC)
DOC’s website has pages on seals and sea lions in Aotearoa New Zealand, including webpages on pakake or New Zealand sea lion, kekeno or New Zealand fur seal, rāpako/popoikore or leopard seal, and ihupuku or southern elephant seal.
INaturalist – Mātaki Taiao
iNaturalist is an online-access participatory science project where you can record and share observations on plants, fungi, and animals, including seal and sea lions, contributing to scientific research and conservation efforts.
Encountering pakake/sea lions
Advice from the NZ Sea Lion Trust on staying safe if you come across pakake/sea lions, in water or one the land.
