Dunedin City Council closes John Wilson Drive to allow New Zealand sea lion to care for her pup

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New Zealand city council closes an entire road for a MONTH to allow an adorable sea lion to care for its newborn

  • Dunedin City Council has closed a road for a month for a New Zealand sea lion  
  • The marine mammal is caring for its pup on a golf course close to the ocean  
  • Sea lion Hiriwa regularly needs to cross road between Chisholm Links and beach 

By Bryant Hevesi For Daily Mail Australia

Published: | Updated:

A city in New Zealand has closed a stretch of road for a month to allow a sea lion to access the beach while they care for their pup at a golf course. 

New Zealand sea lion Hiriwa broke with tradition by choosing the Chisholm Links golf course in Dunedin, on the country’s South Island, to give birth to her fifth pup. 

Hiriwa regularly needs to cross John Wilson Ocean Drive, which separates the course from the beach, for a feed in the ocean while they look after their newborn.

‘She has come up John Wilson Drive and into the golf course to have her pup in some bushes there,’ Department of Conservation coastal Otago biodiversity ranger Jim Fyfe told RNZ.

New Zealand sea lion Hiriwa has chosen the Chisholm Links golf course in Dunedin on New Zealand’s South Island, to care for her fifth newborn pup

Golfers and walkers in the area are advised to be on the look out for Hiriwa and keep their distance from the marine mammal

Golfers and walkers in the area are advised to be on the look out for Hiriwa and keep their distance from the marine mammal 

Mr Fyfe said he knew Hiriwa had given birth as he ‘managed to retrieve the placenta and throw it over the cliff… so it wouldn’t attract any dogs’. 

Hiriwa’s fifth pup is the first to be cared for on the golf course.  

Dunedin City Council said they closed the road to give Hiriwa unfettered access to Chisholm Links and the ocean without having to encounter any vehicles.   

‘We’ve closed John Wilson Ocean Drive to vehicles for the next month to allow some special residents to use the road safely,’ the council posted on Facebook.  

Dunedin City Council has closed John Wilson Ocean Drive (pictured) to allow Hiriwa to easily move between the golf course and the ocean without encountering vehicles

Dunedin City Council has closed John Wilson Ocean Drive (pictured) to allow Hiriwa to easily move between the golf course and the ocean without encountering vehicles 

NEW ZEALAND SEA LION BREEDING

– Breeding occurs over the summer months, with pupping from early December to mid-January

– Pups are born on the breeding beach but are moved by their mothers into nearby vegetation when they reach about six-weeks-old 

– The females then spend the next year alternating between foraging trips to sea and periods on land suckling their pups 

– Pups are dependent on their mothers for milk and protection for the first year of their lives. While mothers are at sea feeding, their pups are alone

Source: Department of Conservation 

‘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). 

‘If you’re walking your dog in the area, please keep it on a lead as sea lions can be hard to spot.’

The council said New Zealand sea lions are endangered and one of the rarest sea lion species in the world.

Chisholm Links took to Facebook to advise its golfers: ‘If you are out on the Links playing golf or going for a walk and come across it please steer clear’.        

‘If you are on the course walking your pooch, please keep it under control and on a leash to ensure both dog and seal lion remain safe.  

‘We’re lucky to have marine mammals on our coastline and we need to share the space with them, as this is what makes our coastal Links and Dunedin’s coastline so unique.’  

New Zealand sea lion breeding season occurs over the summer months, with pupping from early December to mid-January.