New Zealand Closes Down Road for One Month to Allow Sea Lion to Care for Newborn Pup

"She has come up John Wilson Drive and into the golf course to have her pup in some bushes there," Department of Conservation ranger Jim Fyfe said

Hiriwa Sea Lion
Photo: Chisholm Links/ facebook

Some New Zealander's may have to reroute while driving down John Wilson Drive.

Last week, the Dunedin City Council announced that they would be closing down a segment of the road, located in between the Dunedin golf course and the Pacific Ocean, as a sea lion had given birth to her pup nearby.

"We've closed John Wilson Ocean Drive to vehicles for the next month to allow some special residents to use the road safely," the city council wrote on Facebook. "A New Zealand sea lion and her pup have taken up residence at the golf course next door and are regularly crossing the road to get to the beach."

"You can still visit the area by foot or bicycle, but please give the sea lions lots of space (at least 20m)," the council added.

According to the Department of Conservation's (DoC) coastal Otago biodiversity ranger Jim Fyfe, the sea lion recently gave birth to her pup in some bushes at the golf course.

"She has come up John Wilson Drive and into the golf course to have her pup in some bushes there," Fyfe told the New Zealand Herald of the mother sea lion, named Hiriwa.

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"Very definitely she's had a pup — I managed to retrieve the placenta and throw it over the cliff so it wouldn't attract any dogs," he added.

Hiriwa was first spotted nearly two weeks ago, nestled in a bush alongside the 13th hole with her newborn. The DoC said they expect that she will be making trips to the ocean to feed, which will require her to cross John Wilson Ocean Drive.

The city council approved their request to close the street for a month, giving the new mother enough time to care for the pup before they return to the ocean.

Fyfe asked golfers to give the mother and pup "respectful distance" while golfing. He also urged them to be "mindful that they're there and don't hit golf balls in their direction."

"I'm probably more worried about dog walkers who take their dogs walking around the golf course. They might not be expecting to see a sea lion pup turn up out of the woodwork," he added.

In their Facebook post, the city council told residents to keep their dogs on a leash when walking in the area, as "New Zealand sea lions are endangered and one of the rarest sea lion species in the world."

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