Early on the morning of Friday 20th January, DOC, the Sea Lion Trust and University of Otago PhD students gathered at Tomahawk Beach. There Gem was gently netted and, with supervision from local vet, she was sedated while the pup was popped quietly into a safe carry box.
Although Gem took a little while to `go under’ she was never in any real danger from this procedure which has been used successfully on NZ Sea Lions in the past.
A flexible, plastic stretcher was then laid out on the beach. She was popped into this and lifted into the back of a secure vehicle for transportation to a secluded haven up the coast.
There the pup was tagged and micro-chipped as is done with all new sea lion pups are in Otago and Southland. This allows us to follow their movements over the years and build up a better picture of their behaviour and ecology.
DOC staff stayed with the female and pup for the rest of the afternoon to make sure mother and pup bonded again and everything was okay. A roster was then established and the pair was checked upon daily over the next week by DOC staff or Sea Lion Trust members. Gem has since been out to sea to feed and returned safely to her pup.
This is fantastic news for although we have translocated females and pups from at risk beaches in the past, every animal is different in temperament and it always a worrying time until we see them ` doing their own thing’ again after the sedative wears off. Hopefully Gem’s pup will grow into a big, healthy female who will stay on our coast and help increase the local Otago sea lion population and gem will go on to breed again in years ahead.
