Wayfaring seal travels 8km up river to quiet lagoon

Friday, 28 September 2018

This seal must have travelled 8 kilometres up the Wairau River to get to the Grovetown Lagoon.

OPINION: Wednesday morning is normally a pretty average sort of day for me, make lunches, drop the kids at school and go to work. This particular Wednesday turned out to be a little different.

Wednesdays at the Grovetown Lagoon is Wetland Warriors day. Volunteers go down to the lagoon in the morning to weed, plant and tend to the new plantings.

Justine Johnson at Te Whanau Hou Grovetown Lagoon.

This particular Wednesday I got a phone call from the volunteer co-ordinator. I was very surprised when she told me that there was a seal at the lagoon.

Now people have said before that there has been a seal at the lagoon but I never really knew if it was true or someone pulling my leg.

The lagoon is controlled by two pump stations and the gates are not always open. Does it swim through the gates or go over land?

Donning my camera I went for a look. It was a beautiful sunny day at the lagoon and sure enough sunning itself on the bank of the lagoon was a New Zealand fur seal. Very odd because Grovetown Lagoon is a kilometre east of Grovetown township, beside the Wairau River.

Grovetown Lagoon is often confused with the Wairau Lagoon which is beside the sea. The Grovetown Lagoon is an oxbow lake (or an old meander channel of the Wairau River). In fact, the seal would have had to swim approximately 8km up the Wairau River to get to the lagoon.

A seal is reported in the Grovetown Lagoon every year. Could it be the same seal?

I phoned the Department of Conservation (DOC) and they said 'yes', a seal in the Grovetown Lagoon is not in fact a new occurrence. A seal is reported in the Grovetown Lagoon every year. So this left me with more questions.

Is it the same seal? How does it get into the lagoon and then out again? The lagoon is controlled by two pump stations and the gates are not always open. Does it swim through the gates or go over land? How long does it stay here? Why does it come to the lagoon? Are there likely to be more seals in the future? I put my questions to [DOC ranger] Chris Wootton.

Wootton said they didn't know if it was the same or a different seal (kekeno) that visited the lagoon each year. Generally DOC has a hands-off approach to seals unless the seal is endangering itself or people.

DOC advised that the seal can get in and out of the lagoon either swimming or overland and that seals have been known to travel as far as 15km inland, sometimes ending up in strange places like paddocks and streets.

Seals have an exploratory nature and that is why this seal has come to the lagoon. The seal will leave when it is ready and my hope is that it will return to the lagoon again.

Talking to DOC about seals taught me that we need to give seals their space. They are a wild animal, stay 20 metres back and don't disturb them. Also keep dogs away from seals. If you see a seal in trouble call the emergency hotline 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468).

Wednesday was a special day for me to see a seal at the lagoon. Take a trip out to the Grovetown Lagoon, you never know what you might see.

Justine Johnson is the co-ordinator of Te Whanau Hou Grovetown Lagoon.