Records of three vagrant Antarctic seal species (Family Phocidae) from New Zealand: crabeater seal (Lobodon carcinophaga), Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddellii) and Ross seal (Ommatophoca rossii)

Abstract

Records of three vagrant Antarctic seal species from New Zealand are summarised. Crabeater seals (Lobodon carcinophaga) occurred on eight occasions between 1885 and 2015, and Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) on five occasions between 1926 and 2007. There was a single record of a Ross seal (Ommatophoca rossii), from Paekakariki in 2002. The majority of occurrences for all three species were from the southern North Island, particularly Wellington, where five of the crabeater seals either swam up the Hutt River or were on the adjacent Petone Beach. There are no known verifiable records from any of New Zealand's subantarctic islands. Specimens of nine animals (six crabeater seals and three Weddell seals) are held by New Zealand museums.