St Kilda residents have welcomed a beloved seasonal resident, and a new treasure, back home.<\/p>\n
Sea lion Mika gave birth to a pup in the front yard of a St Kilda property on Friday night, not far from the spot she gave birth last season.<\/p>\n
Looking over the pair from an appropriate distance on Saturday were Kaitlin , 12, and her mother Kirsty Beyer.<\/p>\n
They were pleased to see Mika return to the neighbourhood as they, and Kirsty\u2019s father, worked closely with former Department of Conservation ranger Jim Fyfe to monitor Mika last season.<\/p>\n
Before she met Mika, Kaitlin said she had not known anything about the animals, but now: “I love sea lions”.<\/p>\n
Ms Beyer said it was nice Mika had “come back home”.<\/p>\n
“I think it\u2019s amazing, especially that she\u2019s come back for a second year and that she feels safe to come back.<\/p>\n
“They are precious.”<\/p>\n
Mika is the great-great-granddaughter of Mum, the matriarch of the Dunedin sea lion population.<\/p>\n
A resident at the property said Mika had given birth on Friday night, and she and her pup were “absolutely beautiful”.<\/p>\n
Department of Conservation workers had been at the property.<\/p>\n
Pregnant sea lions head inland in search of potential birthing and pupping sites, away from the advances of males.<\/p>\n
The first recorded pup of this season was born on Christmas Day, to 6-year-old Tui.<\/p>\n
In a statement at the time, Doc biodiversity ranger Moss Thompson said 35 pups were expected this season from the 49 breeding-age females in the local population.<\/p>\n
More mother-pup pairs were expected in areas of coastal Otago.<\/p>\n
“In some areas, there may be changes to access tracks on certain beaches and signs requesting no dogs, or that they are kept on leads,” he said.<\/p>\n
“These changes will be temporary while we have mums and pups using these areas.”<\/p>\n
He asked people follow signage and drive carefully in coastal areas.<\/p>\n
To achieve breeding colony status, at least 35 pups need to be born every year in Dunedin for five years.<\/p>\n
Sightings of pups in areas not signposted or marked can be reported to Doc on 0800 362-468.<\/p>\n