Terrestrial habitat is important for breeding in most pinnipeds. On land, most species remain near the shore, but New Zealand (NZ) sea lions, Phocarctos hookeri , often rest inland up to 1.5 km from the sea. Only three breeding areas of NZ sea lions exist today after the species was extirpated from its historical range (NZ mainland). The study was conducted at the Sandy Bay breeding colony, Auckland Islands, between December 2...