The New Zealand sea lion / pakake is one of the world’s rarest sea lions, with only around 12,000 individuals left, mainly inhabiting the sub-Antarctic islands of Aotearoa, Stewart island/Rakiura, with a small population returning to the mainland along the Otago coastline.
Home to the second largest breeding population of pakake, nestled in the sub-Antarctics, is Campbell Island; a place of extreme weather events, low temperatures, and wet and windy weather. The areas they breed in are exposed, and with no cover from these extreme conditions, pup mortality for New Zealand’s second largest breeding colony is of great concern.