Sea lions set to arrive in Dunedin in record numbers

A sea lion pup born during the current New Zealand breeding season, at a beach near Dunedin. Photo / John Burke

Some of Dunedin's newest residents are due to arrive in record numbers again this year.

Five dewy-eyed New Zealand sea lion pups have been found in the area since the breeding season for the threatened species began late last month.

New Zealand Sea Lion Trust chairwoman Jordana Whyte said up to 20 pups were expected between Taieri Mouth and Warrington before the pup count ended in mid-January.

Last year, 15 pups, comprising 13 live births and two still births, were recorded in Dunedin.

One of the rarest sea lion species in the world was beginning to become a more common sight in the city after Mum, the matriarch of the Dunedin sea lion population, first birthed a pup in Dunedin in 1993.

As well as older males who had relocated from the subantarctic islands, and seasonal visitors, 85 sea lions born or breeding in the Dunedin area were known to the trust.

"All of the pups that we are expecting this season are direct descendants of Mum. It's still very much a family affair," Whyte said.

The sea lions bred in the area were likely to stay here as mothers often returned to where they were born to give birth to their pups.

This year, a 4-year-old named Hipi gave birth to her first pup in an Otago Peninsula farmer's paddock, about 200m from where she herself was born, Whyte said.

Mothers were unlikely to leave their pups for the first week, and unlikely to move their pups for the first four weeks, at which point pups would take their first swim, she said.

Department of Conservation Otago coastal ranger Jim Fyfe said the department monitored habitat females used to pup.

If members of the public found a mother and pup, the department would welcome a call, he said.