A critically threatened sea lion pup was found shot dead on the Otago Peninsula on Saturday. Staff from the Department of Conservation (DOC) found the remains of the 11 month-old female sea lion named Rua on a beach near Dunedin.
Rua was last seen on Allan's Beach in September and made the headlines last summer when her birth was overseen by the local community. DOC Coastal Otago operations manager Annie Wallace says the female was only one of 11 born last summer.
"The brutal senseless shooting of a defenseless threatened native animal is a tragedy. Rua was one of only 11 sea lion pups born on the peninsula last summer," she says. "The impact of her death on the recovery of the New Zealand sea lion is not to be underestimated."
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