Foul play suspected after 25 fur seals found dead at Te Oka Bay, Canterbury

Saturday, 4 August 2018

About 25 New Zealand fur seals have been found dead by a couple walking along Te Oka Bay, near Christchurch. 

Kerry Munroe said he and his wife found 'mums with pups' and other small groups of single seals dead at the remote beach on Saturday.

'It's not what you're expecting to see, we just wanted to go out for a quiet Saturday afternoon walk. 

'We're curious about Te Oka Bay and it was very pleasant until we came across that.'

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Munroe said there was no one else at the beach and they could see no live seals nearby. 

'I did have a look around for gunshot wounds or something like that, but I couldn't see anything obvious.'

Munroe reported the find to the Ministry for Primary Industries and was told it would send a representative to the beach. 

The Department of Conservation was also sending experts to the beach, said Andy Thompson, DOC operation manager of the Mahaanui office.

Ingrid Visser, a marine mammal expert, suspected the worst.  

'It's very disturbing and it's highly likely that foul play is involved. 

'It's not common to see a large number of seals to die clustered together like this. But of course, experts would have to rule out natural causes.'

She said she could identify them as New Zealand fur seals because of the shape of their body, ears and whiskers

New Zealand fur seals are protected but not endangered. They can reach 1.5m in length and weigh up to 55kg.

New Zealand fur seals were nearly wiped out around the country during the sealing and whaling boom, but have returned in greater numbers through population management. 

They are native to New Zealand but not endemic, as they are also found in Australia.