Story: Ngāi Tahu

Seals at Kaikōura

Seals at Kaikōura

The New Zealand fur seal is found on the coasts of New Zealand and its subantarctic islands. Seals were an important food source for Ngāi Tahu living on the Kaikōura coast; in the early 1800s they were hunted to near extinction by European sealers, who sold the fur for use in clothing and hats. Since the mid-1980s the seals, which are now a protected species, have begun breeding again on the Kaikōura coast.

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Photograph by Leanne Tamaki

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How to cite this page:

Te Maire Tau, 'Ngāi Tahu - The move south', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/4260/seals-at-kaikoura (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Te Maire Tau, published 8 Feb 2005, updated 1 Mar 2017