Penguin Rescue update

Moulting in the wild

​Hello friends and family
This week I have been treating the penguins at Kawariki Bay for Malaria. We have them in the soft release pen, and rather than bringing them here, we are holding them at their home. I get to drive the ATV over a very rustic track and enjoy the ancient forest remnants on the way. It is a real adventure!

The 3 Erect Crested penguins are on their way

​On Tuesday we split up the team, sent the dead juvenile penguin on its way to Massey university, did the monitoring and Robbie and Murray caught the Bluffs penguins and brought them into care. The 2 females were under 6kg and needing support. The penguin featured in last week’s blog, did have an injured foot.

A Sealion down on the point

​Slowly, some of the penguins are completing their moult and so we are releasing them back to the wild. Incoming almost equals outgoing, so the numbers are stable. On Thursday, Bronwyn took one of our female breeders down to the wildlife hospital – she was not responding to our care and needs more skilled help. 

Sealions everywhere!

​The temperatures have dropped and are falling below 10 degrees C at night. This will lower the mosquito presence and thus the Malaria risk for the penguins moulting in the wild.

About to begin the moult

Our breeders are beginning to come home to moult now.  It is an anxious time as we wait to see who turns up. Yesterday I caught Mrs Moulenbechia, and she weighed in at 7.3kgs. This will be the first season that she has not needed our help for many years.
Have a great week!
Rosalie