New Zealand sea lion facts for kids
Quick facts for kids New Zealand sea lion |
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| Male | |
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| Female with pup | |
| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Clade: | Pinnipedia |
| Family: | Otariidae |
| Subfamily: | Otariinae |
| Genus: | Phocarctos Peters, 1866 |
| Species: |
P. hookeri
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| Binomial name | |
| Phocarctos hookeri (Gray, 1844)
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| New Zealand sea lion range | |
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The New Zealand sea lion (Phocarctos hookeri) is a special type of sea lion found only in New Zealand. In the Māori language, they are called pakake (for both males and females), or whakahao (male) and kake (female). These amazing animals mainly have their babies on New Zealand's subantarctic Auckland Islands and Campbell Islands. In recent years, they have slowly started to have pups and live around the coasts of New Zealand's South Island and Stewart Island.
With about 12,000 individuals, the New Zealand sea lion is one of the rarest sea lion species in the world. They are the only species in their group, called Phocarctos.
Contents
Discovering the New Zealand Sea Lion
New Zealand sea lions are among the largest animals in New Zealand. Like all eared seals, males and females look quite different. Adult males are much larger than females. They can be between 2.4 and 3.5 meters (about 8 to 11.5 feet) long and weigh 320 to 450 kilograms (about 700 to 990 pounds). Adult females are smaller, growing to 1.8 to 2 meters (about 6 to 6.5 feet) long and weighing 90 to 160 kilograms (about 200 to 350 pounds).
When pups are born, they are about 70 to 100 centimeters (about 2 to 3 feet) long and weigh 8 to 10 kilograms (about 17 to 22 pounds). They have a thick coat of dark brown hair. This changes to dark gray with cream-colored spots on their head, nose, tail, and flippers. Adult females have coats that range from buff to creamy gray, with darker fur around their snout and flippers. Adult males are blackish-brown and have a thick, shaggy black mane of hair that reaches their shoulders.
Unique Behaviour: Moving Inland
New Zealand sea lions have a very special behaviour that sets them apart from other seals. During the breeding season, female sea lions slowly move inland with their pups. They do this to protect their babies from strong winds, storms, and other dangers. They can travel up to 2 kilometers (about 1.2 miles) away from the sandy beaches, moving into tall grasses and even forests. They are the only type of seal known to go so far inland and prefer living in forests. As more sea lions have started living on the mainland since the 1990s, this behaviour means they sometimes wander into areas where people live.
Where New Zealand Sea Lions Live
The main places where New Zealand sea lions have their pups are the Auckland and Campbell Islands. These islands are south of mainland New Zealand. About 99% of all sea lion pups are born there each year. On the Auckland Islands, there are three main breeding spots. Most pups are born on Dundas Island. Smaller groups of pups are born at Sandy Bay on Enderby Island and on Figure of Eight Island. A very small breeding area at South East Point on Auckland Island seems to have been left. The Campbell Islands are another important breeding area.
Historically, New Zealand sea lions lived all over mainland New Zealand and Stewart Island. However, they disappeared from these areas because people hunted them. After more than 150 years, sea lions started breeding on the South Island coast again in 1993. This happened when a seven-year-old sea lion, nicknamed "Mum," gave birth on the Otago Peninsula. Other small groups of breeding sea lions have recently started to appear in different parts of the Stewart Island coastline. They have also been seen on the Catlins coast, south of the Clutha River.
Scientists have studied the DNA of these sea lions. They found that the sea lions we see today originally came from the subantarctic islands. Between 1300 and 1500 AD, a different group of sea lions that lived on the mainland disappeared. The subantarctic sea lions have since slowly moved in to fill that empty space.
What New Zealand Sea Lions Eat and Who Eats Them
New Zealand sea lions eat many different kinds of food. Their diet includes various fish like Antarctic horsefish, red cod, and opalfish. They also eat rays, sharks, and cephalopods such as New Zealand arrow squid and yellow octopus. Sometimes they eat crustaceans, seabirds, and even other marine mammals like New Zealand fur seals. What they eat can depend a lot on where they live. For example, sea lions on the Otago Peninsula eat different things than those on Campbell Island.
New Zealand sea lions can also become food for other animals. Great white sharks are known to hunt them. In one study, 27% of adult sea lions at Sandy Bay showed scars from shark attacks that they managed to escape.
Conservation Status: Protecting a Rare Species
New Zealand sea lions are considered the most threatened sea lion species in the world. Their status is mainly affected by the population on the Auckland Islands, which saw a big drop of about 50% between 2000 and 2015. However, there have been some positive signs. In 2013, the number of pups born on the Auckland Islands rose to 1931, which was the highest in five years. The population on Campbell Island also seems to be slowly growing, and about 30% of all sea lion pups are born there. The sea lion populations on Otago and Stewart Island are still small but are increasing.
In 2010, the Department of Conservation changed the species' ranking from "Nationally Endangered" to "Nationally Critical." This means they were in a very serious situation. However, in 2015, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) also classified them as "Endangered" globally. This was because of their small overall population size, few breeding groups, and the predicted decline of the Auckland Islands population.
Good news came in 2019 when the New Zealand sea lion's status improved. They are now considered "Nationally Vulnerable." Their overall population decline has slowed down in most breeding areas. Stewart Island was even officially recognized as a new breeding colony in 2018. Despite these improvements, their global IUCN status remains "Endangered."
Challenges Faced by New Zealand Sea Lions
New Zealand sea lions face several challenges that affect their survival.
Past Hunting
For many years, people hunted sea lions for their meat and blubber. This hunting greatly reduced the number of New Zealand sea lions and where they lived between the 13th and 19th centuries. In 1893, hunting for both New Zealand sea lions and New Zealand fur seals became illegal in New Zealand.
Accidental Catches in Fishing Nets
In the 1990s, as squid fishing increased around the Auckland Islands, many sea lions were accidentally caught and drowned in the large trawl nets. To help prevent this, the government sets a limit on how many sea lions can be accidentally caught each year. If this limit is expected to be reached, fishing might be stopped.
Special devices called sea lion exclusion devices (SLEDs) were introduced in 2001. These are like escape hatches in the fishing nets. They are designed to let sea lions swim out of the net while still keeping the squid inside. Since 2007, all fishing boats in the Auckland Islands squid fishery have used SLEDs. While some scientists are unsure if sea lions always survive after using a SLED, the Ministry for Primary Industries believes these devices greatly reduce the number of sea lions harmed by fishing.
Not Enough Food
Sometimes, there isn't enough food available in the ocean for the sea lions. This can be a big problem for their population. When food is scarce, mothers might not be healthy enough to have pups, or their pups might not survive. For example, in 2015, starvation was thought to be the cause of death for many pups on Campbell Island.
Diseases
Diseases can also harm sea lion populations. In 1998, a bacterial disease caused by a type of Campylobacter bacteria killed about 53% of newborn pups and 20% of adult females on the Auckland Islands. In 2002 and 2003, another bacterial disease caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae killed many pups. This bacteria can cause serious infections like meningitis and sepsis in pups. Scientists continue to study and monitor diseases that affect sea lions.
Living Near People on the Mainland
As New Zealand sea lions return to the mainland, they sometimes come into contact with human areas. Because they like to move inland, sea lions have been seen in surprising places like backyards, homes, swimming pools, golf courses, and even a fish-and-chip shop! Roads and fences can make it hard for them to move around safely. Sadly, some sea lions have been hit by cars, and a few have been harmed by people or disturbed by domestic dogs.
To keep sea lions safe, the Department of Conservation works with local communities. They help people learn about these amazing animals and how to live alongside them peacefully.
See also
In Spanish: León marino de Nueva Zelanda para niños
Images for kids
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Sea lions on Aramoana in the Otago Harbour
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Male yawning in Waipapa Point
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Female sleeping in Victory Beach, New Zealand
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Sand-covered male yawning on a beach in Otago Peninsula
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Female (left) and male (right, yawning)
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Male scratching itself in Otago Peninsula
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Female on Smaills Beach
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A male New Zealand sea lion
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New Zealand sea lions on the beach at Kaka Point
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