Pinniped speculation thread

[ElephasMaximus]

Auckland Zoo will phase out pinnipeds entirely this year, possibly marking the end of seals being kept in captivity in NZ. I don't regard this as a necessarily bad development, but I'm curious: is there some kind of regulation, whether from DoC or the EPA, against keeping seals in captivity? There are about four different zoos and aquariums in NZ that keep penguin colonies, and all of these colonies started off with rescue birds and regularly receive new birds in the same way, so why haven't any rescued seals been received by Auckland, especially since they're the only facility in the country that can house seals?

 

[Zoofan15]

Auckland Zoo will phase out pinnipeds entirely this year, possibly marking the end of seals being kept in captivity in NZ. I don't regard this as a necessarily bad development, but I'm curious: is there some kind of regulation, whether from DoC or the EPA, against keeping seals in captivity? There are about four different zoos and aquariums in NZ that keep penguin colonies, and all of these colonies started off with rescue birds and regularly receive new birds in the same way, so why haven't any rescued seals been received by Auckland, especially since they're the only facility in the country that can house seals?

Auckland Zoo actually acquired four wild pinnipeds from 2005-2007:

1.0 Kaoko (New Zealand fur seal)
1.0 Atamai (New Zealand fur seal)
0.1 Moana (New Zealand fur seal)
1.0 Orua (Subantarctic fur seal)

They never bred them due to being at capacity (they also had two California sea lions at the time).

Marineland Napier also acquired several New Zealand fur seals, some of which bred.

The only requirement to my knowledge was that the seals be deemed unreleasable/unable to survive in the wild (i.e. they couldn’t just catch healthy adult seals).

 

[Jambo]

so why haven't any rescued seals been received by Auckland, especially since they're the only facility in the country that can house seals?

There just simply hasn't been any seals that are in need of rescue and can't be re-released. I do know Napier rescued quite a few up until a decade ago when they closed - these have all since been sent to Australia.

 

[Zoofan15]

There just simply hasn't been any seals that are in need of rescue and can't be re-released. I do know Napier rescued quite a few up until a decade ago when they closed - these have all since been sent to Australia.

There’s actually an ongoing stream of wild pinnipeds requiring rescue and rehabilitation in New Zealand.

Auckland Zoo only stopped acquiring them because they were at capacity at the time (six pinnipeds); but the fact they acquired four within two years demonstrates the numbers coming in.

The fact Auckland Zoo haven’t acquired any as their numbers dwindled suggests debate over a phase out has been going on for a while.

 

[ElephasMaximus]

There’s actually an ongoing stream of wild pinnipeds requiring rescue and rehabilitation in New Zealand.

Auckland Zoo only stopped acquiring them because they were at capacity at the time (six pinnipeds); but the fact they acquired four within two years demonstrates the numbers coming in.

The fact Auckland Zoo haven’t acquired any as their numbers dwindled suggests debate over a phase out has been going on for a while.

Maybe Auckland felt that as they could only house a small number of the seals that actually needed care, there just wasn't any point in trying? Either that, or it was a purely financial concern.

I doubt Auckland will come back online as a holder of pinnipeds, but I wouldn't mind seeing a proper facility for rescuing seals being built. There's a seal sanctuary in Cornwall that specialises in rescuing and rehabilitating seals, and it's a point of pride for them that, excluding animals that had to be put down, they've been able to release all but four of the seals that have come through their doors, and two of those were former zoo animals that didn't know how to survive in the wild. Something like this could be great for NZ - maybe built near Penguin Place in Dunedin, which fulfils a similar function for penguins and is near a number of pinniped colonies? Dunedin lacks a good wildlife-based attraction, so this could be a good option for them. Kaikoura might be a good option too - tourists could go to a seal sanctuary if bad weather made whale watching infeasible.

 

[Zoofan15]

Maybe Auckland felt that as they could only house a small number of the seals that actually needed care, there just wasn't any point in trying? Either that, or it was a purely financial concern.

I doubt Auckland will come back online as a holder of pinnipeds, but I wouldn't mind seeing a proper facility for rescuing seals being built. There's a seal sanctuary in Cornwall that specialises in rescuing and rehabilitating seals, and it's a point of pride for them that, excluding animals that had to be put down, they've been able to release all but four of the seals that have come through their doors, and two of those were former zoo animals that didn't know how to survive in the wild. Something like this could be great for NZ - maybe built near Penguin Place in Dunedin, which fulfils a similar function for penguins and is near a number of pinniped colonies? Dunedin lacks a good wildlife-based attraction, so this could be a good option for them. Kaikoura might be a good option too - tourists could go to a seal sanctuary if bad weather made whale watching infeasible.

When Auckland Zoo opened Sea Lion and Penguin Shores in 2001, they found themselves with a spacious exhibit and only three California sea lions to fill it (Scuttles, Keel and Kipper). The other two sea lions (Sinka and Kline) had died of age related issues earlier that year. The loaned two females from Marineland to make up numbers, but Marineland requested their return circa 2003 and then Keel’s unexpected death in 2004 reduced the colony to 1.1 sea lions.

At this point, the decision was made to switch to New Zealand native seals. The seals acquired from the wild were only ever intended as ambassadors (as opposed to a rescue and release set up) and they acquired four because the exhibit had a capacity to hold six pinnipeds. The Sea Lion and Penguin Shores was rebranded as The Coast in 2011, when the New Zealand precinct opened.

Scuttles and Kipper died in 2013 and 2015, which may have been the point Auckland Zoo considered phasing out - plus the fur seals were ageing and it may have been thought new (young seals) would be incompatible with them.

 

[ElephasMaximus]

When Auckland Zoo opened Sea Lion and Penguin Shores in 2001, they found themselves with a spacious exhibit and only three California sea lions to fill it (Scuttles, Keel and Kipper). The other two sea lions (Sinka and Kline) had died of age related issues earlier that year. The loaned two females from Marineland to make up numbers, but Marineland requested their return circa 2003 and then Keel’s unexpected death in 2004 reduced the colony to 1.1 sea lions.

At this point, the decision was made to switch to New Zealand native seals. The seals acquired from the wild were only ever intended as ambassadors (as opposed to a rescue and release set up) and they acquired four because the exhibit had a capacity to hold six pinnipeds. The Sea Lion and Penguin Shores was rebranded as The Coast in 2011, when the New Zealand precinct opened.

Scuttles and Kipper died in 2013 and 2015, which may have been the point Auckland Zoo considered phasing out - plus the fur seals were ageing and it may have been thought new (young seals) would be incompatible with them.

Interesting... this does suggest that at least some of the motivation behind phasing out pinnipeds was logistical. Auckland's seal enclosure wasn't really built with rescue-and-release in mind. I doubt anything like this will happen any time soon, but it does seem possible that pinnipeds might be kept in the future in NZ as part of a rescue-and-release programme, like what Auckland Zoo and Kelly Tarltons have set up with sea turtles.

 

[Jambo]

Interesting... this does suggest that at least some of the motivation behind phasing out pinnipeds was logistical. Auckland's seal enclosure wasn't really built with rescue-and-release in mind. I doubt anything like this will happen any time soon, but it does seem possible that pinnipeds might be kept in the future in NZ as part of a rescue-and-release programme, like what Auckland Zoo and Kelly Tarltons have set up with sea turtles.

Possible, although I doubt this will occur at Auckland with them now phasing pinnipeds out. Kelly Tarlton's is a good option - they have the space, resources and expertise.

 

[ElephasMaximus]

Possible, although I doubt this will occur at Auckland with them now phasing pinnipeds out. Kelly Tarlton's is a good option - they have the space, resources and expertise.

Yeah, I think the best location would be one that had facilities purpose-built for rescue-and-release, which Auckland never really had, but which wasn't reliant on seals for income, like Marineland. An aquarium would be ideal. Plus they could still use Auckland Zoo's hospital to treat the seals, so they'd only have to build the rehab pools, not all the medical equipment.

 

[Zoofan15]

Possible, although I doubt this will occur at Auckland with them now phasing pinnipeds out. Kelly Tarlton's is a good option - they have the space, resources and expertise.

Yeah, I think the best location would be one that had facilities purpose-built for rescue-and-release, which Auckland never really had, but which wasn't reliant on seals for income, like Marineland. An aquarium would be ideal. Plus they could still use Auckland Zoo's hospital to treat the seals, so they'd only have to build the rehab pools, not all the medical equipment.

Kelly Tarlton’s don’t really have the space. They have a large tank for sea turtle rehabilitation, which is their main focus for rescue/rehabilitation, which has been a good partnership with Auckland Zoo.

Marineland’s site would have been ideal for this purpose, but a skatepark has since been built on the site.

 

[ElephasMaximus]

Kelly Tarlton’s don’t really have the space. They have a large tank for sea turtle rehabilitation, which is their main focus for rescue/rehabilitation, which has been a good partnership with Auckland Zoo.

Marineland’s site would have been ideal for this purpose, but a skatepark has since been built on the site.

Yeah, Kelly Tarltons would have to build an annex or something, and as they didn't do this when Marineland was closing down to rehome its seals, this suggests they might lack the funding entirely.

Maybe Wellington Zoo? We were just talking about what they might put in the place of their farmyard exhibit, and seal recovery would fit the NZ theme of the precinct. They already have an animal hospital, and I know they treat seabirds there. Do they ever treat seals as well?

 

[Zoofan15]

Yeah, Kelly Tarltons would have to build an annex or something, and as they didn't do this when Marineland was closing down to rehome its seals, this suggests they might lack the funding entirely.

Maybe Wellington Zoo? We were just talking about what they might put in the place of their farmyard exhibit, and seal recovery would fit the NZ theme of the precinct. They already have an animal hospital, and I know they treat seabirds there. Do they ever treat seals as well?

Wellington would have the space if they scrapped the farmyard! It would be a fantastic use of that space and they could build several pools. City kids would be more interested to see pinnipeds than farm animals.

No, the Nest doesn’t treat pinnipeds but it regularly takes in sea birds such as penguins.

 

[Jambo]

Kelly Tarlton’s don’t really have the space. They have a large tank for sea turtle rehabilitation, which is their main focus for rescue/rehabilitation, which has been a good partnership with Auckland Zoo.

Marineland’s site would have been ideal for this purpose, but a skatepark has since been built on the site.

They don't have a huge amount of space but it's do-able. I'm not sure why they haven't considered using some of the land above too.

 

[ElephasMaximus]

Wellington would have the space if they scrapped the farmyard! It would be a fantastic use of that space and they could build several pools. City kids would be more interested to see pinnipeds than farm animals.

No, the Nest doesn’t treat pinnipeds but it regularly takes in sea birds.

I'm glad you think it's a good idea! And maybe if they had facilities for long-term rehab, the Nest would be more willing to take in seals for treatment.

Te Wao Nui at Auckland is pretty much the definitive NZ Natives exhibit, but now that they're phasing out both penguins and seals, Wellington would be able to use both as a point of difference.

Another reason why Wellington Zoo is a good location for pinnipeds is the proximity of the Red Rocks seal colony, which is a pretty obvious location for releases. They could even theme the exhibit around the new Red Rocks children's tv series.

 

[Zoofan15]

I'm glad you think it's a good idea! And maybe if they had facilities for long-term rehab, the Nest would be more willing to take in seals for treatment.

Te Wao Nui at Auckland is pretty much the definitive NZ Natives exhibit, but now that they're phasing out both penguins and seals, Wellington would be able to use both as a point of difference.

Another reason why Wellington Zoo is a good location for pinnipeds is the proximity of the Red Rocks seal colony, which is a pretty obvious location for releases. They could even theme the exhibit around the new Red Rocks children's tv series.

The pinnipeds are undoubtedly the highlight of Auckland Zoo’s New Zealand precinct, followed by the Kiwi House. Only ZooChatters are really interested in the Takahe!

I agree Wellington would be the perfect location and it would be great for people to see conservation work have a direct impact via breed and release, something that’s less able to be demonstrated via species which are often off-show.