Seal spotted feasting on eel in Christchurch river

Monday, 24 November 2025

A fur seal surprised Christchurch residents when it emerged from the Heathcote River and caught an eel.

A video shared online on Saturday shows a seal barrelling and turning as it swims up and down a stretch of the Ōpāwaho Heathcote River in St Martins.

Onlookers can be heard saying “what a catch” as the large marine mammal munches on an eel that is squirming and tries to escape.

Sam Davidson, who captured the video, often walks around the area because he loves nature, trees and birds, but had never seen anything like it.

“I couldn’t believe it. I saw this massive big, brown blob, and it occurred to me it was a seal,” he said.

“It came right out of the water, it was amazing.”

Davidson followed it along the riverbed for about 1km and watched “in amazement” as it caught an eel and wrestled with it for about a minute before swallowing it.

Department of Conservation (DOC) ranger Mailee Stanbury confirmed the animal was a New Zealand fur seal.

Marine mammals venturing up Christchurch’s rivers happens from time to time - the department expects two or three sightings across the city's rivers each year.

“We see that every season, they usually come up the Avon and we can have them as far up as the CBD,” Stanbury said. “They can really pop up anywhere if there’s water they can follow.”

A concerned resident reported the animal rolling around with a flipper extended, but Stanbury said this is normal behaviour to regulate temperature. Seals expose their flippers to cool the artery underneath.

The appearance has revived memories of a beloved aquatic resident from decades past.

Many east Christchurch residents will have fond memories of the city’s previous resident elephant seal, Elizabeth, who lived in the Avon and Heathcote rivers from the late 1970s until her death in 1985.

Elizabeth became a local celebrity, often basking on riverbanks, roads and drawing crowds of admirers.

Weighing more than a tonne, Elizabeth’s habit of sunbathing on roads meant she was once hit by a car in Woolston in 1985, requiring 10 people to lift the car off her, according to a Press report.

She sustained no injuries from that incident and Ministry of Transport officers reportedly used sirens and lights to coerce her back into the Heathcote River.

It was front page news later that year when Elizabeth died, found dead on Scarborough Beach with an autopsy concluding she had a viral infection.

Her life was immortalised in print decades later by American author and long distance swimmer Lynne Cox who wrote a children’s story about her called Elizabeth, Queen of the Seas.

“The people of Christchurch were so proud of her,” Cox said in an interview, recounting her time in the city. “She was so beloved.”

DOC advises residents who spot sea lions or seals to report the sighting, minimise disturbance, stay at least 10m away or further if with a dog, and back off slowly if too close.

“Keep dogs away from them and don’t try and feed them,” Stanbury said.

“People are well-meaning and try to feed them, but it’s really important to leave them alone. They come out of the water to rest, they can look skinny particularly the young ones [who are] often exploring up the rivers but please do not feed them.”

It is easy to think the seals are crying because of their weeping eyes, but Stanbury said it was a natural cleansing behaviour.

It is an offence under the Marine Mammals Protection Act 1978 to disturb, harass, harm, injure or kill a New Zealand sea lion or seal.