The Department of Conservation is in disbelief that a rare New Zealand sea lion has been beaten to death in the South Island.
The endangered species usually lives on sub-Antarctic islands, and the young male was one of the few ever recorded this far north.
DOC spokesman Phil Bradfield says the young male was first spotted up the Opawa River, east of Blenheim, at the end of August and was seen quite often in the following months.
He says the weekend before last, someone found the sea lion dead on the riverbank. An autopsy has revealed it suffered severe head trauma from being bludgeoned repeatedly with a blunt instrument.
Bradfield said the lion had been playful and curious, and is unlikely to have attacked anyone despite its large size (around 100 kgs).
