The Department of Conservation has made contact with a man who threw a dead fish at a leopard seal on Petone Beach.
Marine reserves ranger Breanna Hindmarsh said DOC had been in contact with the man in question and he was assisting with enquiries.
“DOC strongly discourages this type of behaviour when marine mammals come ashore.”
Under the Marine Mammals Protection Act, DOC can lay charges for those disturbing protected marine animals, costing someone jail time or fines up to $250,000.
“We continue to encourage people to keep at least 20 metres away from marine mammals like this leopard seal, keep dogs on a leash, and enjoy it from a distance,” Hindmarsh said.
Local Carrie was one of several yelling at the man to stop, heard in the background of a video shared to social media.
“I heard him saying to his kids, ‘Let’s go feed it’,” she told RNZ.
“He hopped the little fence, and got the fish, and threw it at the seal.”
Carrie said the man then looked at the crowd of about 20 people and yelled at them to “feed the bugger”.
Carrie said she had left quite concerned that something would happen to the seal, after seeing teenagers daring each other to go up to it.
Marine biology student Ivan Raynaud earlier told RNZ he saw multiple people shine flashlights in the seal’s face.
“When the torches and flashes shone on the seal he was starting to get more disturbed and agitated, rolling over more, yawning and sort of trying to turn his face away.”
Raynaud said he tried to tell people to stop, but he was told there were “no rules”.
“The people did not seem to care.”