Sea Lions Are Reclaiming Their Territory in New Zealand, Humans Be Damned

In New Zealand, a rising sea lion inhabitants is getting comfy in surprising locations, together with alongside climbing trails and in at the least one public swimming pool. The comeback of this endangered species has meant extra harmful interactions between sea lions and people, conservationists say.

An worldwide group of researchers just lately got here collectively to overtake distribution fashions for New Zealand sea lions, that are used to foretell the place the animals will go in an space, thus serving to conservationists who’re attempting to guard them. The group produced an built-in mannequin database that makes it simpler to trace the place sea lions are more likely to roam. Their paper is published this week in Methods in Ecology and Evolution.

The New Zealand sea lion (also called rāpoka) is without doubt one of the rarest sea lions on this planet, with a complete inhabitants of round 12,000. Once endemic throughout the nation, the species was hunted off the mainland about two centuries in the past. But in 1993, a single feminine sea lion (nicknamed “Mum”) had a pup on the south facet of Otago. It was the primary pup born on the mainland in a century, and now, the animals have lastly established a breeding inhabitants there. Annual pup counts on the mainland at the moment are about 15 per yr, although the animals’ numbers are larger on the Auckland Islands and different islands within the space.

Humans are encountering these sea lions extra typically, together with pups (which implies a protecting mom is probably going close by). According to a Michigan State University press release, hikers now stumble throughout the animals, which might rile up sea lion moms and be a hazard to each them and the people. In January of this yr, a mom sea lion gave birth near the 13th hole of a golf course, prompting native officers to shut a close-by highway.

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“It’s one thing for wildlife rangers to look out for sea lions on sandy beaches, but it’s another challenge for them to tromp through forests to find baby sea lions hiding under the trees,” mentioned Veronica Frans, an ecologist at Michigan State University and lead creator of the brand new paper, within the university release. “While we can’t know for sure where female sea lions will go on the mainland, we can use models to make helpful predictions.”

According to a New Zealand Department of Conservation blog written by Frans, mother sea lions move their pups as far as 1.25 miles into inland forest for protection, a unique behavior among sea lion species. The move protects pups from the elements and from aggressive adult male sea lions, but the commute can be treacherous. Roads between the forest and the sea mean that the animals can become roadkill, and farmland fencing can obstruct their paths.

Frans’ team used several different models to offer a more nuanced prediction of female sea lion behavior, specifically regarding the animals’ breeding habitat requirements and the places that humankind has altered. The goal is to maximize the success of these creatures while minimizing their interactions with people. Some methods, like putting up protective fencing on certain beaches, go a long way in making sure the animals and humans don’t get mixed up.

“There is currently only one official breeding colony on the mainland right now, and only a few other spots where they’ve had pups, but the populations are still small,” Frans said in the release. “Nearly 400 sites seem like an incredible potential for a bright future for these sea lions. All signs point to many more sea lion pups in the future, if we do our best to welcome them.”

If all goes well, perhaps the pinnipeds can turn their newfound foothold on the New Zealand mainland into a full-blown residency.

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