I am excited to announce I am relocating from Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau to Dunedin NZ/Ōtepoti, where I will be continuing my studies in Marine Science. There is one species in particular that inspired me to gain a degree in marine science. You guessed it.. New Zealand sea lions/pakake. I saw my first pakake in February 2020 and was taken aback by their unique physicality and behaviour. After witnessing a male (bull) being continuously harassed by a truck on a beach in The Catlins in June 2020, I intensified my research on the species and contacted wildlife personnel and politicians.
Their story is one of surviving against the odds. Pakake almost went extinct between 1791 and 1946 due to sealing and were sought after for their meat and skin. What remained of their population fled to the Subantarctic Islands; the Auckland Islands and Campbell Island is where the majority of their 12,000 population remains. In 1993, a female (cow), later lovingly dubbed ‘Mum’ appeared at Taieri Mouth in Dunedin and gave birth to the first pup born on mainland Aotearoa in approximately 150 years. Since 1993, the pakake population on mainland Aotearoa has slowly grown and is now estimated to be between 300 – 500 individuals by pakake experts. They are considered the “rarest seal in the world,” in part due to their incredible diving abilities, and their pup-hiding tactics.