Box of Light is made possible thanks to these visionaries:
Some tragic news came in last week when we learned that two-year-old female sea lion, Jean, had been shot and killed on a Dunedin beach. She was found by a member of the public on the harbourside of Aramoana Beach.
Jean was the pup born in January 2021 in the little hollow on the main track you'd take to surf Aramoana. Most surfers will remember her mum Janet nursing her there when you checked the surf that summer. Janet actually used the same spot for her next pup in 2022.
Janet, who is now seven, is descended from Patti who is just one step from the famous Mum – who started the whole return to breeding on the mainland. Patti, now 15, quickly took an interest in divers along the Aramoana mole. Our friends at Dive Otago captured a really cool sequence of Patti, as a three-year-old, playing with a group of divers. She became quite well-known in the dive community and what's really intriguing is that all her offspring are the same. Janet also likes to visit divers, so too did Jean. The trait seems to have become part of the appeal for the coastline around Aramoana for their family line.
Losing Jean like this is a massive blow to the population in Otago. She would have reached breeding age in the next few years. We're not sure why Jean was shot, but it is important to encourage friends and family to understand the difference between sea lions and seals (neither should be shot) and we have to accept that living along Otago's coastline will mean we will get to have interactions with sea lions more and more often.
Fear is a terrible human emotion. Because of it we become too scared to fail. We also become too scared to try. We lash out at the unknown and when a sea lion is charging toward us, or bashing into our surfboard from below, it is easy to let fear dictate our response. Fear is uneducated, so educate it. If you understood their behaviour you'd learn that their charges are mock. That the playful knocks beneath the board, or mouthing bites on your leg or arm, are just play. Sure, you may be the subject of their attention for a few minutes, but if you remain calm there is actually an incredible reward at the other end of that growth arc. Where else in your life can you co-exist with wild animals with this much personality? That's a special thing for all of us.
DOC is appealing for anyone with information about Jean's death to contact 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468).
See you at the beach ... Derek
PS We are about to enter the busy season for sea lions along the Otago coastline. That will mean an increase in interactions with them for surfers, beach users and dog walkers. Here's a cool wee video that will help you to understand sea lion behaviour better so those interactions can be positive ones.
Box of Light is made possible thanks to these visionaries: