Besides dolphins and killer whales, what other animals can be seen in Hauraki Gulf Marine Park?
Whale watching in New Zealand Whale watching in New Zealand is predominantly centered around the areas of Kaikoura and the Hauraki Gulf. Known as the 'whale capital', Kaikoura is a world-famous whale watching site, in particular for sperm whales which is currently the most abundant of large whales in New Zealand waters. The Hauraki Gulf Marine Park (just outside Auckland city) is also a significant whale watching area with a resident population of Bryde's Whales commonly viewed alongside other cetaceans Common Dolphins, Bottlenose Dolphins and Orca. Whale watching is also offered in other locations, often as eco-tours and in conjunction with dolphin watching. Land-based whale watching from New Zealand's last whaling station, which closed in 1964, is undertaken for scientific purposes, mostly by ex-whalers. Some compilations of sighting footages are available on YouTube.
Surplus killing Surplus killing, also known as excessive killing and henhouse syndrome, is a common behavior exhibited by predators, in which they kill more prey than they can immediately eat and then cache or abandon the remainder. The term was invented by Dutch biologist Hans Kruuk after studying spotted hyenas in Africa and red foxes in England. Other than humans, surplus killing has been observed among zooplankton, damselfly naiads, predaceous mites, martens, weasels, honey badgers, wolves, orcas, red foxes, leopards, lions, spotted hyenas, spiders, brown and black and polar bears, coyotes, lynx, mink, raccoons, dogs, and house cats.