Sea Lions

Life’s a beach – not.

Sea-lions used to cover the coast of New Zealand, but now most of our sea lions live on remote islands at the bottom of the South Island. Like us, they are mammals.

That means they give birth to live young (not eggs), they have warm blood, and their young suckle milk from their mothers.

They’re part of a bigger sea mammal family that includes fur seals, dolphins, whales and leopard seals. They have a thick layer of fat called blubber which keeps them warm.

Seal vs Sea-lion

Don’t know your sea-lions from your seals? The seal and the sea-lion come from a family called Pinnipedia. That means that they have fins for feet.

They both have a torpedo shape so they can rocket through the water. Although they have lots of similarities, they also have lots of differences.

Table Caption:

Seals	Sea Lions
Seals can’t bend their back flippers sothey’re clumsy on land	Sea-lions can bend their back flippers so they can walk across land. That’s why they’re often the stars at marine parks.
Seals have pointy noises	A sea lions' nose is more blunt
The males aren't much bigger than the females	Male is much larger and has a band of rough fur around its neck, a bit like a lion’s mane. This shows how big and strong they are and helps them attract females.
Seals are chubby	Sea-lions aren’t so chubby.
They have ear-holes with  no outside flaps, just holes.	They have tiny little ear flaps.
They don’t bark much	They can bark like dogs. Ruff!

A fur seal (left) and a male sea-lion (right)

Are you a blubber hugger?

Sea- lions used to exist throughout New Zealand, however many of them were killed

for their skin (for leather) and blubber( for oil). 

Now a small population exists on the islands at the bottom of the South Island. Eighty five percent of the NZ sea-lion population live on the Auckland Islands (not near Auckland, silly!). You'd think they'd be safe there but they're not.

Mother sea lions leave their pups ashore and swim out for a feed. Sometimes they get caught and drowned in the huge nets put out by squid fishers.

If mum doesn't come home, her pup starves to death. Each year, the government sets a target on how many sea-lions those squid fishers can kill. Last year they were allowed to kill 113. This year, after a major drop in sea lion numbers, 76 are allowed to be killed. And that’s not counting the pups that were left ashore!

Sea lions are in real trouble. They need your help. Estimates put the population at less than 9000 individuals. 

What should I do if I see a sea lion?

The New Zealand Sea Lion Trust suggests that you:

• Keep your distance - at least 10m is best.
• Be prepared to move away calmly if they approach you.
• Never try to touch a sealion - they can bite!
• Don't feed them. They are great at catching their own food.
• Keep dogs under control on a leash.
• Don't drive cars any closer than 50m.
• If you see larger sea lions harassing smaller ones, don’t interfere. It can be dangerous for you and sometimes causes the larger sea lion to become more aggressive towards the smaller one.
• Do not disturb sea lions to try and make them more active for photographing .They need their rest! Be patient and you will be rewarded.
• If you are worried about the welfare of a sea lion, or any wildlife, please contact the Department of Conservation immediately on 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468)