Tourist slammed for taunting endangered sea lion on beach
A tourist taunting an endangered sea lion on a beach has been slammed by the public, accusing the woman of utter ‘stupidity’.
The endangered sea lion was resting on a beach in Sandfly Bay in Dunedin, New Zealand when the woman approached.
The woman disturbed the sea lion by dancing and waving her arms for about 20 seconds, standing just metres in front of the creature. The sea lion finally snapped and lunged at the woman who quickly ran away.
The footage was filmed by local woman Glynis Corson, who was walking with her family about 80 metres away and uploaded to YouTube as a public warning.
“Tourist coming to NZ need to respect its wildlife and have a sound mind when walking around the beaches [sic],” Ms Corson wrote on YouTube.
“This is an example of a complete lack of education when it comes to Sea lions.
“This person was within 1.5 Metres and really very lucky they did not get hurt.”
The public is up in arms over the tourist’s irresponsible behaviour.
“Stupidity at its best,” one Facebook user wrote.
“Such stupidity and if she was attacked the sea lion would be blamed!!!!” another Facebook user wrote.
“This sort of behaviour should be reported!” someone else wrote.
New Zealand sea lions are one of the rarest sea lion species in the world, according to the New Zealand Department of Conservation.
An adult male sea lion can weigh up to 450 kilograms and reach a size of about 3.5 metres in length.
There are only about 12,000 creatures in the country. However, their main breeding colony is in decline due to factors including human impacts and fisheries interactions.
Following the incident, Ms Corson approached the woman and told her off for the incident.
“I had the chance to vent at this person,” Ms Corson wrote.
“Just how stupid they were and to have a thought for the wildlife-not their photo.”
The seal related incident comes after a little Canadian girl who was dragged into the water by a sea lion in 2017.
