DoC says the latest birth continues Mum\u2019s legacy and strengthens hopes that the growing population of pakeke around Otago will contribute to the species\u2019 long-term recovery.<\/p>\n
The mainland population is seen as increasingly important as an insurance population, with numbers declining in the sub-Antarctic islands. <\/p>\n
To achieve recognised breeding colony status, at least 35 pups must be born every year for five consecutive years.<\/p>\n
DoC biodiversity ranger Moss Thompson said rangers were now expecting to encounter increasing numbers of mother-and-pup pairs along the coast.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are approximately 49 breeding-age females in our population this year and we are expecting around 35 pups,\u201d Thompson said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey are very vulnerable during this time, so please give them plenty of space and leave them time to rest and form essential mother-pup bonds.\u201d<\/p>\n
Members of the public are being warned to expect temporary changes to beach access in some areas over the coming weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn some areas, there may be changes to access tracks on certain beaches, and signs requesting no dogs, or that they are kept on leads,\u201d Thompson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese changes will be temporary while we have mums and pups using these areas.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease follow this signage when you\u2019re out naturing in the area, and be prepared to use another access route or walk your pooch in the other direction.\u201d<\/p>\n
Over the festive season, DoC staff, mana whenua and New Zealand Sea Lion Trust volunteers will be out monitoring coastal sites and engaging with the public.<\/p>\n
He also cautioned that sea lions may move through unexpected places during the breeding season.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring this time, pakeke will be crossing roads and using parks in coastal areas so please drive carefully, and check your surroundings before letting your dog off the leash.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anyone who spots a pup in an area that is not signposted or marked is asked to contact DOC on 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468).<\/p>\n
Pakeke are one of the world\u2019s rarest sea lion species and are found only in New Zealand. <\/p>\n
Pups weigh between 8 and 10 kilograms at birth, with pupping typically occurring from early December to mid-January, before breeding groups disperse later in summer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DoC says the latest birth continues Mum\u2019s legacy and strengthens hopes that the growing population of pakeke around…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":206545,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[9869,11154,15316,18532,18399,11586,5972,1888,2193,22643,111,139,69,5908,9629,126100,126099,147,3008,6926,4497,14625,406,102],"class_list":["post-206544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-arrival","tag-begins","tag-birth","tag-breeding","tag-christmas","tag-coast","tag-day","tag-first","tag-lion","tag-marked","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-official","tag-otago","tag-pakeke","tag-pup","tag-science","tag-sea","tag-season","tag-start","tag-summer","tag-wildlife","tag-with"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206544","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=206544"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206544\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/206545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=206544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=206544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=206544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}