Diamantina

Because I know some folks on this forum love penguins in general and have delighted in watching them in New Zealand and other parts of the world, I thought I would post this recent disheartening news about the already endangered Yellow-Eyed Penguin population of the Otago Peninsula, which serves as a reminder of what a tough lives they live.
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/24...hs-devastating
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/24...e-prohibitions

The local Royal Albatross colony ("only albatross colony of any species found on a human-inhabited mainland") has also suffered recently:
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/24...affects-colony

Melnq8

Very sad indeed Diamantina, particularly the bit about the careless dog owners. How hot has it been in Dunedin? Just wondering how hot it has to get to cause heat stress for the albatross.

AlanJG

But they love their pets and their dog/cat would never attack!

dutyfree

When my daughter and I were recently in Oamaru to see the penguins,we encountered a family that had brought a bull dog to the beach. When I told them that the dog was prohibited showing the dad the signs,he basically told me that " his dog doesn't kill birds and for me to f#ck off"! Fortunately, a department of conservation guy came upon me trying to keep the dog off the beach and took over. People are such idiots and are their own worst enemy for wildlife!

Diamantina

Sorry for the delay. Melnq8, it had been hot for Dunedin, meaning high 70s, low 80s (fahrenheit). I read that fly strike, which killed the albatross chicks, occurs at temperatures above 17 c. I think it became a problem here because it was consistently hot and virtually windless for days. But I am no ornithologist or vet, just a bird watcher.

Yes, dutyfree and AlanJG, it is hardbreaking about dogs attacking penguins and irresponsible dog owners. Last June, dog(s) destroyed an entire blue penguin colony on the West Coast within a week. The local community had spent years restoring the habitat and ridding the area of predators to make it habitable to blue penguins.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/ar...ectid=10816067
On a happier note, a new blue penguin colony was later found north of Pancake Rocks.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/ar...ectid=10838617

I personally have found two dead penguins on Dunedin beaches over the last year, a Yellow Eyed and a Blue. I am almost certain the blue was attacked by a dog as I found it on a beach popular with dog walkers and the wounds were fresh and not large. I also found the dead Yellow Eyed on a popular dog watching beach, but I reported the penguin to DOC and by the next day the autopsy was complete. The Yellow Eyed Penguin, which looked fairly robust to me, had died of starvation. I was told by a local fisherman that he has seen Yellow Eyed penguins swimming farther out, presumably in their search for food. Of course, this is just anecdotal, but then again, I have seen huge fishing vessels here in Dunedin. Besides being affected by overfishing, the penguins can also end up as by-catch. What a waste of life.

I have also seen many people harassing them, by stalking them or getting too close. Incredibly, after the recent massive die off of penguins here in Dunedin, tourists on two separate occasions were chewed out by DOC volunteers for lighting campfires by the dry grasses near the Yellow Eyed Penguin nests at Sandfly Bay!
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/ar...ectid=10838617
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/24...gered-penguins

However, the main reason I wanted to post today was to share this cheery video of the rescued Yellow Eyed Penguins being released back into the wild!
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/247909/video-all-sea

This is a useful link for reporting wildlife emergencies in NZ:
http://www.doc.govt.nz/footer-links/contact-us/

Melnq8

Thanks for the info Diamantina, it boggles the mind how people can be so incredibly careless and stupid.

I enjoyed the cheery video; the penguins looked a wee bit confused (also couldn't miss the wind, which I assume is a daily occurance along the coast in Dunedin).

We're just this minute planning yet another trip to the SI. No matter how often we go, we always struggle with the itinerary. Wondering if we should give Dunedin another go...