Penguin Rescue Update

Katiki Point from the air

​Hello friends and family
Dan and I picked up Mr 26 from the Dunedin Wildlife hospital and brought him home on Sunday, then we went to lunch at the Tavern. In the evening, we got a phone call from a local and rescued a Snares crested penguin from the beach at Moeraki, in almost the same spot as last week’s Hoiho.

Showing his best side

​Monday was pleasant, so we did some tree work at Okahau. Jan and Bronwyn joined us on Tuesday and we weighed the chicks down the hill. They are all doing just fine and are at their cutest – getting a bit of penguin attitude which is always welcomed.

The Snares crested penguin

​This year we are trying a new procedure for Juveniles, where we uplift them pro-actively to ensure that they get through the moult successfully. This takes them out of the ocean at peak Barracouta season. We picked the first one up on Monday night, the second on Tuesday and the 3rd on Wednesday. Wednesday was our morning at the Toptip and from there we went to lunch at Elaine’s to mark the end of 2025.

The gull babies are struggling with harsh weather conditions

​Jan joined us on New Year’s day to weigh the chicks at Okahau. 2 of them are of concern and we will reweigh them today. They will come into care if they have not made good progress. Elaine came out on Friday, and we processed the blood samples from the 3 Juveniles – one Malaria and 2 infections – a big shock to us all.

Jan giving the chick a health check

​On Saturday we found a mother compromised so today we will test her blood and that of her chick.

Adults annoyed with us for visiting after hours

Have a great week!
Rosalie