Report a sighting
We work to help monitor pakake/New Zealand sea lions to support research efforts and their management in human populated areas
Are in Other Locations
Are in Ōtepoti/ Dunedin
Need help
Report Pakake Who...
Coming Soon
Pakake Who Need Help
When to call
The DOC hotline runs 24/7
FOR IMMEDIATE HELP
CALL 0800 362 468
CALL 0800 DOC HOT
Press option #2 on the menu
What help is needed?
When reporting please be very specific about the location of the pakake/sea lion
It is in immediate danger
It is on or across a road
It has a fresh wound or injury
It is entangled or playing with plastic
It is being harassed by a person or dog
A pup is in danger (pups are smaller than a labrador)
When to report
The DOC report forms are monitored during business hours
It is dead - do not approach just report
The threat is chronic. E.g. incidents with cars, dogs, or people occur frequently in a single location
Verbal threats are made but have not been acted on
You have concerns after your hotline call
When to relax
Sea lions are resilient
They sleep heavily
They have weepy eyes
They regularly vomit
They fight with each other
They recover from small injuries
They move inland from the beach
Pups are left alone from a week of age
Pakake in Otepoti/Dunedin
You can report your pakake sightings from Ōtepoti/Dunedin and surrounds directly to us
These reports provide valuable information that help us to monitor pakake habitat use around this human populated area and inform management to keep pakake safe in this area
These reports feed into a database which we make available to researchers and managers. Your reports contribute to valuable work, but this work can take some time to complete, so please don't expect immediate results. As a volunteer organisation, we cannot provide personal responses to sighting reports. If you have any immediate concerns for pakake wellbeing please refer to the above section.
You can help too! Send in your sightings of tagged pakake to help this research. Pakake are tagged with two tags, one in each 'arm' (flipper) pit as seen in the photos to the left. When the pakake is in the right position you can read their unique code of numbers and letters used to identify the individual.
Always use binoculars or a camera with zoom to read ID tags. Never approach a within 10 metres of a sea lion to read a tag and please do not disturb a pakake to read its tag.
We will soon have more information available about who the tagged individuals from Ōtepoti are. Pakake are also tagged in the Catlins, on Rakiura (Stewart Island), and in the sub-antarctic.
Pakake in Other Locations
While every location may not have a specific monitoring program
you can contribute to iNaturalist to assist in the monitoring of Pakake nationwide
Explore the map of current iNaturalist sightings below
and click the report button to contribute your own sightings
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Learn more about pakake
Identify Them
Keep Them Safe
Monitoring Them
Coming Soon
Report a Sea Lion
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