A New Zealand fur seal. PHOTO: RNZDepartment of Conservation staff are not ruling out human involvement in the decapitation of at least two New Zealand fur seals found dead on a Dunedin beach. It prompted many people to write posts warning about swimming or surfing in the area, because they might be mistaken by sharks as New Zealand fur seals. A great white shark. "Having worked in Australia’s largest sea lion colony and South Australia’s largest fur seal colonies for years, I can tell you one thing we never saw — a dead seal with shark wounds.

Source: Otago Daily Times February 09, 2026 17:48 UTC