The Department of Conservation is appealing for information after a dead leopard seal was found decapitated in Southland at the weekend.
File photo: Leopard seal at a Christchurch beach. (This photo was shot with a telephoto lens, to obey the DOC advice about keeping a safe perimeter). Photo: Supplied/ Julie Chandelier
The department was first alerted to the dead seal at Monkey Island last week and after consultation with the local Oraka Aparima rūnaka, it decided to allow the animal to naturally decompose.
However, the leopard seal's body was decapitated over the weekend - horrifying both groups.
"This act is both incredibly disrespectful, and illegal under the Marine Mammals Protection Act, as it is an offence to take any part of a marine mammal that has not naturally separated," senior biodiversity ranger Ros Cole said.
Leopard seals have a distinctive large head with ferocious teeth.
Teamed with their slim bodies, from afar they can look like a large snake, Cole said.
They normally dwell in the Antarctic but visit New Zealand's shores sometimes in autumn-winter. It is not known why the seal might have come ashore in December.
The department was calling for anyone with information to call its hotline, 0800 DOC HOT, and ask for the Invercargill team.
Mutilation of the dead seal could result in two years' jail or a fine of up to $100,000.