Wildlife
New Zealand Sea Lion
One of the world's rarest sea lions, found almost nowhere else on Earth. The Auckland and Campbell Islands hold most of its breeding population.
The New Zealand sea lion is endemic to New Zealand, and travellers on subantarctic voyages have a real chance of walking past one hauled out on a beach in the Auckland Islands or Campbell Island, which remain its primary breeding grounds. With a total population of around 12,000, it is one of the rarest sea lion species on the planet, and the only living member of its genus, Phocarctos.
Māori names for the animal reflect how long it has been part of the region's story: pakake for either sex, whakahao for males, and kake for females. In recent years small numbers have begun recolonising the coasts of New Zealand's South and Stewart Islands, but the Auckland and Campbell Islands are still where expedition passengers are most likely to see them in numbers, often lying up on tussock-backed beaches within sight of the landing zodiacs.
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Wildlife
Gentoo Penguin
A stocky, orange-billed penguin of the genus Pygoscelis, closest kin to the Adélie and Chinstrap. Its loud, trumpeting call, delivered with head thrown back, carries across the shoreline colonies where expedition landings are made.
Wildlife
Humpback Whale
A 14–17 metre baleen whale known for breaching and long pectoral fins, often seen feeding on krill in loose groups along the ice edge.
Wildlife
Orca
Black and white apex predator instantly recognizable by its pale eye patches, the orca is the largest of the dolphins and one of the ocean's most capable hunters. Sightings often involve a tight-knit family pod working the ice edge together.