Supported Response -

Marine Animals

WALT find information in written texts and make inferences

Marine Animals

Marine means “ocean”. If we are talking about “marine animals” we are talking about animals that live in or around our oceans.

Think about how many different types of animals must be “marine animals”!

New Zealand has a lot of different marine animals, they are all beautiful , and interesting. Today we will look at three of New Zealand’s most famous, and important marine animals.

The playful Hector’s Dolphin, the powerful New Zealand Sea Lion, and the adorable Yellow-Eyed Penguin, also called the Hoiho.

Hector’s Dolphin

Hector's Dolphins are one of the world’s smallest dolphins. Adult dolphins will only reach 1.5 metres in length. That’s only as big as some of you!

They are mostly found around the coast of New Zealand’s South Island.

Their bodies are grey with black and white markings.

The Hector's Dolphins have a round dorsal fin that looks like one of Mickey Mouse’s ears . The dorsal fin sits on top of the body, and helps them to swim.

New Zealand Sea Lion

New Zealand Sea Lions are one of the most rare sea lion species in the world and are only found in New Zealand.

There are only 12,000 of these animals left in the world, so if we don’t look after them, there won’t be any left! That means they will have gone extinct.

These animals are enormous with big ones being over 3 metres long, and weighing nearly 500 kilograms. Aren’t they cute? Just don’t get too close!

Hoiho / Yellow Eyed Penguin

The hoiho is another animal that can only be found in New Zealand, which makes them very rare, so you would be very lucky to see a real one!

They are very small , even for penguins, only measuring 65cm in height, and about 6 kilograms in weight.

These animals are in danger of going extinct too - fishing boats, animals, and changes to their homes mean they are at risk, so let’s think about how we can save them!