Police are investigating the killing of a rare sea lion on the Otago Peninsula.
Rua was known to take shelter under visitors' cars at the camping ground in Warrington. Photo: Supplied / John Burke
Department of Conservation (DOC) staff found the body of the 11-month-old female called Rua on Saturday on a beach near Portobello with a bullet hole in her head and a deep cut on her body.
Rua made headlines when she was born last summer and was adopted and named by the nearby Warrington community.
DOC Coastal Otago operations manager Annie Wallace said the shooting was a brutal and senseless killing of a critically threatened animal.
She said the death has devastated many DOC staff and the community.
The chairman of the New Zealand Sea Lion Trust, Stephen Broni said Rua's shooting was "tragic".
"We only have 15 pups born this year, I mean we are talking about the marine mammal equivalent of the kākāpō.
"She could have gone on to breed and contribute five or six other pups to the mainland population over the years, Mr Broni said.
'I just can't understand the mentality or the reason anybody could have for shooting an animal like that."
Sea lions are slowly returning to the New Zealand mainland after being hunted heavily in the 1800s. However, they are critically endangered, and are one of the rarest species of sea lion in the world.
It is illegal to injure or kill the animals with penalties including imprisonment and up to a $250,000 fine.
The gunshot wound on Rua's body Photo: Supplied / Department of Conservation