Fur seals at Muriwai
GETTING DRENCHED by wild west coast surf and jumping from boats onto a rocky island to spend an hour among a group of bad tempered fur seals is not everybody's idea of fun, but this is exactly what a group of enthusiastic members from our Auckland branches and volunteers from the Environment Centre have been doing over the last few months. Their aim is to collect data on one of the northern most colonies of New Zealand fur seals (Arctocephalus forsteri). Oaia Island, a wet and rough 1.5 km boat ride off Muriwai Beach, is home to a large number of Australasian gannets, and becomes overcrowded when at least 130 seals arrive during the winter months. Little is known about where the seals come from or how many use Oaia Island between May and November. The Forest and Birders are carrying out counts of the seals present at Oaia and observing their behaviour over the next few years. Information will be analysed to provide a useful picture of changes in this New Zealand fur seal population.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/FORBI19911101.2.13.1
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Forest and Bird, Volume 22, Issue 4, 1 November 1991, Page 8
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180Fur seals at Muriwai Forest and Bird, Volume 22, Issue 4, 1 November 1991, Page 8
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