A leopard seal which hundreds of spectators visited has died, A Hutt City Councillor says.
Councillor Brady Dyer said the seal died on Sunday night, and will be removed by the Department of Conservation (DOC) on Monday.
Conservationists echoed the news on social media, saying they suspected the seal looked unwell.
DOC has been approached for comment. Staff had previously expected the seal to return to the water when it was ready.
“[In] the last few years, this is probably the third one that I’ve seen. We had a massive, huge leopard seal in Oriental Parade by the boat sheds for a time,” DOC ranger Melody McLaughlin told RNZ a week ago.
“He’s perfectly happy having the snooze on the beach here, and he will go when he’s good and ready to go back into the water.”