August 15th 2023: Boy

Last week a large group of dedicated volunteers and workers sat down in a workshop to review the New Zealand Sea Lion Threat Management Plan (TMP). This document was put into place five years ago turning a quantum of science into actionable steps to help the species. The five-year review is part of that process and its 20-year goal.

During proceedings, it dawned on me that while there are issues facing the species we are certainly moving in a good direction with the mainland Rakiura, Catlins and Otago populations. The beauty of a document like this is that you get to see the shifts clearly and share those with all the interested parties.

A TMP is only viable if it references the entire ecosystem and environment, but it certainly felt good to have updates and edits to the TMP rather than a complete refresh.

It brought it all home for me when I bumped into a young male sea lion at Blackhead at the weekend. He was very boisterous and keen to play – chasing people along the narrow strip of sand that leads to the path. Eventually, he thought the surfers would be more fun and made a slow and tedious journey across the rocks (sea lions prefer sand). He rattled a few surfers, caught a few waves and had a good time.

Later I looked up his tag number and discovered that he was born in southern Rakiura in 2022. He's part of an established colony down there (with seeds of another colony looking very likely to establish at a location in the north of Rakiura). His visitation is pretty important as it proves that the Otago, Catlins and Rakiura populations are inextricably linked. That bodes very well for the Otago population, which has not yet reached the pup numbers to be considered a stable colony. However, an 18-month-old male is more likely to cause chaos as his rumbustious ramblings rattle beach users along our coast. It's a good time to remind everyone that they are like playful dogs and reacting to them with aggression is a very bad idea. Instead, just be as boring as possible in the water and move away slowly on land. But make sure to enjoy the experience. Having mega-fauna in our backyard is pretty cool.

See you at the beach ... Derek

PS We were asked to name one of the sea lion pups this year. Gail gave birth to a young male sea lion and, with the approval of family, iwi and the New Zealand Sea Lion Trust, we named the young pup in memory of Jamie Civil who passed away while surfing the coast in 2022. Growing up in Northland, Jamie was often called "Boy" by his family and the name resonated for those who had got to know the young pup. Sian Mair, of Sea Society, recently photographed Boy, who you can see below. Thanks, Sian!