Sea predators

Which sea predators harm penguins?

A sea lion’s point of view

Yellow-eyed penguin's natural predators are sea lions, sharks and barracouta. Leopard seals, usually residents of the Antarctic region, are specialist penguin predators while sea lions very occasionally dine in penguins.

New Zealand sea lions have only recently returned to the mainland of New Zealand after being hunted by the Maori for food and commercial sealing. In December 1993, on the Otago coast just south of Dunedin, a solitary female New Zealand sea lion gave birth to a pup. This is believed to have been the first pup born on the New Zealand mainland in over 200 years. The story of Mum, matriarch of the Otago sea lions.

There has been a marked (30%) decline in pup production in the last 10 years, at some of the major rookeries. The reason for the decline is not clear, but is likely to be a combination of on-going fisheries by-catch of adult females and a series of bacterial disease outbreaks.

New Zealand sea lions qualify globally as Vulnerable. They are considered to be rarer than kiwi. It is fully protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act 1978 and offences under this act carry penalties including fines of up to $35,000 or a prison sentence of six months.

Download the sea lion board game.

Sharks and barracouta are the main marine predators.

Sharks have been known to kill an unknown number of mainly young penguins but they also inflict injures on others. Barracouta who bite at the feet of the penguins, cause injuries that in themselves are not fatal but then often become infected. When birds are injured or under-nourished they also become more susceptible to disease.

Barracouta very regularly injure penguins with cuts to the feet or body.The wounds inflicted can be treated in rehab but if the foot bone gets infected then the bird will no longer be able to forage and will die.

Check out this amazing YouTube clip of a sub-Antarctic gentoo penguin being chased by a pod of orca.