It's been 30 years since a lone, pregnant sea lion journeyed from the sub-Antarctic islands to Dunedin and gave birth, re-establishing the species on mainland Aotearoa.
She's named "Mum" and her descendants can still be seen on Dunedin beaches today.
Mum disappeared in 2010 after birthing 11 pups on the mainland, leaving experts unsure as to when and how she will have died.
Speaking to 1News, the Department of Conservation's Jim Fyfe said it highlights that sea lions are becoming part of the local culture.
"Mum was born down in the Auckland islands in the late 1980s and she came up to Dunedin and decided it was pretty good here and has stayed, she started having pups in the summer of 93 and 94.
"That's 30 years ago now and she's pretty much single-handedly responsible for bringing breeding back to Dunedin for New Zealand sea lions," Fyfe said.
Despite saving the species in Aotearoa, sea lions are still classes as "nationally vulnerable".
New Zealand Sea Lion Trust's Bryony Slater said their population overall is declining.
"This is because the population strong holds are down in the sub-Antarctic islands and they're not in such a good way up in the mainland.
"Here though, we're very lucky they have returned and their numbers are growing so this population can be a bit of a safe guard for the whole population as it is increasing on the mainland."
Slater said there's been significant progress with the species in the last three decades.
"It's time to reflect on the progress that has been made with sea lions on the mainland in that time and also to recognise the positive behaviour changes that are occurring in the local people as they learn to live alongside sea lions on our beaches.
"I think change in behaviour is a great thing to reflect on and when you look back 30 years, people didn't know what a sea lion was and now the Dunedin community especially is very much embracing their presence as part of this wildlife capital of New Zealand."
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