Mahira, the 5-year-old sea lion mother, disappeared last Saturday, leaving her 3-month-old pup alone at an undisclosed Otago Peninsula location.
She was spotted with the pup on Monday afternoon.
Last week, worried people from the peninsula community joined Department of Conservation and New Zealand Sea Lion Trust staff to look for Mahira.
Sea lion trust spokeswoman Jordan Whyte said the young pup, on her own, had started to look quite skinny.
"Without her mum feeding her she can lose condition quite quickly, which is what seemed to be happening."
The trust reviewed all sightings of Mahira to track where she might be.
Various coastal communities, including the Tomahawk Smaills Beach Care Trust, surfers and local families, helped the trust with the search.
Ms Whyte said sea lion pups could starve to death if their mothers went missing or died at sea.
"It was a real worry, but it’s a happy outcome.
"Especially when its a female pup, that’s a double whammy."
The female pup was born in the Dunedin city area and Mahira had successfully moved it to a sea lion creche site on the peninsula.
