I first met this wee fellow in March 2022. With the permission of the Department of Conservation, I briefly approached him; after assessing me, he graciously posed for my camera. A few days ago, I returned to the same beach and observed him playing in the water. He spotted me and came over to say ‘Kia ora’. It was as though he recognised me… So, can New Zealand sea lions/pakake recognise humans?
Potentially, with their noses. To identify one another, sea lions use a combination of vocal and olfactory (smell) cues, and mothers (cows) can distinguish their pups from others.
In a 2019 study, Simeon Smeele from the Syddansk Universitet – University of Southern Denmark in Odense tested whether sea lions can remember their actions. It was found that sea lions can remember what they have done – for at least eighteen seconds.
In 1991, Colleen Kastak and Ronald Schusterman – marine biologists at the University of California in Santa Cruz, started teaching a female California sea lion named “Rio” learning concepts such as “sameness”. They started by holding up a card with a number or letter on it. Rio was then shown a card with the same symbol and a card with a different symbol. If she picked the matching symbol, she was rewarded with a fish. In 2001, Rio was tested again, and preformed as well as in 1991. As the symbols used were different, it proved Rio had remembered and could apply the concept of “sameness” to new situations.
Photos: New Zealand sea lion by Sian Mair. Please note I took this photo from 10 meters away and zoomed in with my camera. 20 meters is preferable.