A leopard seal is making waves in Tauranga with visitors to Tauranga Bridge Marina lining up to take photos of the marine mammal.
The seal, whose species was more often spotted in Antarctic waters, has been at the marina since at least Saturday and has been swimming from pier to pier, hauling itself out of the water to rest in the sun.
The Department of Conservation (DoC) had been to the marina and placed a sign and orange cones near the seal warning people to keep their distance but people had still been edging as close as they could to get photos of the unusual visitor.
While at Pier B yesterday, the Bay of Plenty Times saw a constant flow of people coming near the cones to get a glimpse of the animal.
Marina resident Paul Deed said he had seen the seal swimming under Pier B before hauling itself out of the water.