Department of Conservation staff ran out of microchips as sea lion pup numbers exceeded all expectations in New Zealand’s wildlife capital this year.
Dunedin’s annual breeding season pup counts have set records in three consecutive years — increasing from a record 20 pups in 2022 to 21 last year. Now 31 pups have been counted this year.
DoC Coastal Otago biodiversity ranger Jim Fyfe said he was “thrilled” with the breeding success.
The increase suggested the Dunedin population would reach official breeding colony status sooner than expected.
The threshold for DoC to declare Dunedin a breeding colony is 35 pups a year over five years.