A regular visitor to a seaside Timaru suburb has prompted residents to warn those using walking tracks in the area to take care due to his penchant for hiding in bushes.
Kat Manson said the large male sea lion had been visiting her Waimataitai home for years, and although he has always been friendly from afar – she said he had scared a few unsuspecting passers-by.
“It’s not a daily thing but he … does visit fairly frequently,” Manson said.
“He definitely has started to feel quite homely around here.”
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On Wednesday, Manson shared a video of the sea lion laying on a freshly mowed patch of grass beside her home.
She said she had uploaded the video to social media to warn people in the neighbourhood of his presence, as he was often around at the same time children are going to school and people are out walking their dogs.
“If he does see someone or a dog he will charge at you,” she said.
“He is friendly from afar.”
Manson said they have seen seal pups and the odd dolphin fin in the water, but the sea lion which her household refers to as ‘Neil the seal’ is the only frequent visitor.
“Sometimes you will just look out the window and there he is,” she said.
She said his visits had increased in frequency in the past six months.
A Department of Conservation spokesperson confirmed the sea lion as a “young male sea lion”.
“From July to September each year there’s an influx in adolescent seals appearing on our shores and further inland. This is because seal pups begin to wean as their mothers prepare for new pups,” they said.
“Once near extinction due to widespread hunting, New Zealand fur seals and sea lions are now experiencing a population comeback and recolonising much of their former range. This means we’ll be seeing more of them playing along our rocky shorelines throughout mainland New Zealand, the Chatham Islands and the subantarctic islands,” they said.
No-one should intervene with sea lions or seals unless they are obviously hurt, they said.
The Department advises people stay at least 20 metres away from seals or sea lions if observing them, and not to make loud noises at them or throw anything, keep children and dogs away from them, don’t feed then and do not attempt to touch them.
“Sea lions can wander as far as 15km inland, often by following rivers and streams. They can appear in unusual places, such as a paddock, roadside or an inner-city street. This is a normal occurrence from exploratory behaviour.”
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