Man fined for harassing sea lion on Catlins beach
A Southland man has been fined $400 for harassing a sea lion in an incident that appalled nature lovers in the Catlins earlier this year.
In January, residents of Tautuku Beach, on the South Otago coast, reported seeing a group of motorists and trail bike riders taunting a sea lion for two successive days.
A ranger's report obtained by RNZ stated a ute was repeatedly driven at the sea lion, the driver using the clutch and brakes to "lunge" towards the animal and provoke it into responding.
Riders were also seen driving in circles around the sea lion.
At the time the Department of Conservation (Doc) said it was making enquiries after being provided with a vehicle's licence plate details.
This week Doc Murihiku operations manager John McCarroll told RNZ a Southland man had since admitted to his involvement in the Tautuku Beach incident.
"After speaking to this person and a neutral witness, we are satisfied that there was no contact with the sea lion at any stage, nor were there "doughnuts" performed around the sea lion on the vehicle's departure," he said.
"After legal review, a $400 infringement notice was issued to the offender for disturbing a sea lion, in breach of the Marine Mammals Protection Act 1978."
The incident led to calls - including by outgoing mayor Brian Cadogan - to reconsider banning vehicles from Catlins beaches.
A ban was proposed by the Clutha District Council in 2023 but dropped following a social media backlash.
Councillors will now revisit the issue after the October local elections.
The Tautuku Beach incident is only one of many involving endangered sea lions in the Catlins, a stretch of coast renowned for its wildlife.
In October last year a female known as Jade was shot, and her pup was also shot a few days later. The pup was left to a lingering death in the Catlins Estuary.
In November a third sea lion was stabbed on Waipati Beach and had to be euthanised.
That prompted the New Zealand Sea Lion Trust to double its reward for information about the killings to $12,000.
The initial report about the Tautuku Beach incident stated the motorists had left by the time rangers arrived and the sea lion was dead.
However, a necroscopy found the animal died of other causes, most likely from injuries inflicted by another sea lion.
It could also not be confirmed whether the dead sea lion was the same one that was being harassed earlier.
Only about 12,000 New Zealand sea lions remain, making it the world's rarest sea lion species.
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