Unlike the Lion and the Elephant, Seal Rock is not said to look like the animal it is named after—it has been dubbed Seal Rock because of the population of New Zealand fur seals found here. Given the sheer walls of the peaks lining the fjord, there are few places where the seals that live here can pull themselves out of the water; Seal Rock is one of them. The colony here is also a testament to the resilience of the species. Having been driven almost to the point of extinction in the 19th century, when seal skins were highly coveted, the population worldwide has rebounded to around 200,000. While man still poses a threat, today it is due mostly to the risk to seals of being entangled in fishing gear.
