Secluded New Zealand Waterfall Doubles as a Playground For Young Seals

The picturesque Ohau Waterfall on New Zealand’s Kaikoura coast is the only waterfall in the world that doubles as a seal creche, a place where the young marine mammals can play and socialize without having to worry about predators.

Ohau is a 15-meter-high horsetail waterfall (the water maintains contact with the bedrock as it falls). It’s not the most eye-catching waterfall in the world, but it has something that no other land waterfall has – adorable seals. For one to three months a year, the shallow pool at the bottom of Ohau waterfall acts as a creche for dozens of New Zealand fur seal pups. By playing and interacting with each other, the young seals learn important behaviors and develop social skills, all while putting on an unforgettable spectacle for human visitors.

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Meet the Real Andre, the Pet Seal

For those of you that don’t know anything about Andre, he was the star of a 90’s children’s flick about an adorable little seal that gets adopted by a young girl and spends some time as her pet. As much as I loved seeing Andre acting goofy on screen, I have to wonder if a house is really the best place to raise a seal. Apparently this woman seems to think so.