Photo: Chisholm Links/ facebook
Some New Zealander’s may have to reroute while driving down John Wilson Drive.
“We’ve closed John Wilson Ocean Drive to vehicles for the next month to allow some special residents to use the road safely,” the city councilwrote on Facebook. “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.”
According to the Department of Conservation’s (DoC) coastal Otago biodiversity ranger Jim Fyfe, the sea lion recently gave birth to her pup in some bushes at the golf course.
“She has come up John Wilson Drive and into the golf course to have her pup in some bushes there,” Fyfe told theNew Zealand Heraldof the mother sea lion, named Hiriwa.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“Very definitely she’s had a pup — I managed to retrieve the placenta and throw it over the cliff so it wouldn’t attract any dogs,” he added.
Hiriwa was first spotted nearly two weeks ago, nestled in a bush alongside the 13th hole with her newborn. The DoC said they expect that she will be making trips to the ocean to feed, which will require her to cross John Wilson Ocean Drive.
The city council approved their request to close the street for a month, giving the new mother enough time to care for the pup before they return to the ocean.
Fyfe asked golfers to give the mother and pup “respectful distance” while golfing. He also urged them to be “mindful that they’re there and don’t hit golf balls in their direction.”
“I’m probably more worried about dog walkers who take their dogs walking around the golf course. They might not be expecting to see a sea lion pup turn up out of the woodwork,” he added.
In their Facebook post, the city council told residents to keep their dogs on a leash when walking in the area, as “New Zealand sea lions are endangered and one of the rarest sea lion species in the world.”
source: people.com
