A leopard seal was spotted in Oamaru Harbour last week.

The apex predator could be seen on Thursday afternoon lounging on the beach near the town’s penguin colony.

Oamaru Penguins science and environmental manager Philippa Agnew said this was the first sighting for a while and the creatures usually hung around for a few days.

She urged people to give the leopard seal “plenty of space” if it did hang around to allow it to rest.

Leopard seals can be found across the Southern Ocean, breeding and feeding in the Antarctic, but have a vast range.

Their diet includes penguins, fish, squid, small crustaceans and small seals.

Leopard seals are the third-largest  species of seal and females — the larger of the two sexes — can grow to be more than 3m  long and weigh more than half a tonne.

The seal in Oamaru Harbour was “relatively small” by comparison.

Thursday’s sighting was reported by Oamaru Penguins to Leopard Seals NZ.