New Zealand fur seals/kekeno (Arctocephalus forsteri) were nearly extinct before the Marine Mammals Protection Act was passed in 1978. Before humans arrived, it’s estimated there were as many as two million seals on New Zealand’s coastlines. Hunting for food and furs was the issue. Although hunting stopped in the late 1940s, the population didn’t really start to increase until after 1978, when they were given legal protection. Since then, the population has steadily increased and fur seals are now breeding in the North Island once again. This mother and pup were sunning themselves on rocks in Tasman Bay. Well, one was sunny herself, the other was waiting for a feed.
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