Once near extinction due to widespread hunting, New Zealand fur seals 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.
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.
Seals can wander as far as 15 km 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.
DOC takes a ‘hands off’ approach to seals. They are capable and resilient and given time and space, they usually find their way home.
Don't feed seals as they can become reliant on humans for food.
Seals are wild animals and will defend themselves if they feel threatened. Adult seals can move surprisingly quickly on land. While they can look harmless, seals can inflict serious injuries to dogs or people and can carry infectious diseases.
It is an offence under the Marine Mammals Protection Act 1978 to disturb, harass, harm, injure or kill a seal. A dog owner whose dog attacks a seal could face prosecution.
You should:
The following are all natural behaviours and you don't need to intervene. You may see seals:
There are exceptions to our ‘hands off' approach. DOC will intervene if a seal is:
You must report it as soon as possible to our conservation hotline 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468) or the Ministry for Primary Industries (0800 008 333).
If the seal is alive you should release it back into the water as quickly and gently as possible, provided it is safe to do so. Be particularly careful with seals as they may be aggressive and bite.
If the seal is dead, either release the carcass at sea or preferably bring it to shore for us to recover.
Leave the dead seal where it is.
You only need to report it to our conservation hotline 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468) if: