Antipodean Fur Seals of Australia and New Zealand

Part of our new collection for 2020. The work was produced during December 2019 in Barunguba or Montague Island in the Barunbuga Island Nature Reserve in New South Wales, Australia. In February 2020 we flew to New Zealand to continue working with the Antipodean fur seals in Kaikōura on the east coast of Te Waipounamu or the South Island of New Zealand. The work took place under the necessary permits being these type of seals protected under the Environment Protection Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act 1999 under which it is listed as a protected marine species and the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (NSW). The Antipodean fur seal or long-nosed fur seal is a species of seals found mainly around southern Australia and New Zealand. The name New Zealand fur seal is used by English speakers in New Zealand. Kekeno is used in the Māori language. As of 2014, the common name long-nosed fur seal has been proposed for the population of seals inhabiting Australia. Although the Australian and New Zealand populations show some genetic differences, their morphologies are very similar, and thus they remain classed as a single species. After the arrival of humans in New Zealand, and particularly after the arrival of Europeans in Australia and New Zealand, hunting reduced the population near to extinction.