Sunday 31st December 2017

Penguin chicks creching in the forest

​Hello friends and family                       Happy New Year!
In 2017, Penguin rescue has evolved
Our mission statement;
Providing sanctuary for penguins

• Optimising habitat
• Maximising survival and breeding
• Minimising disturbance

Has been supplemented with;

• Enhancing management through research
• Advocating for penguin conservation

  We wrote to the Minister of Conservation and asked for an assurance that Yellow-eyed penguins would continue to be able to live here at Katiki Point – she did not give us one.

You look interesting!

​ Yes, YEP conservation is a priority for DOC and Ngai Tahu but really, unwritten, they can go and live somewhere else as people like to come here and see them so let’s spend conservation dollars on enhancing the tourist experience and never mind that the tourists come to see the penguins so once the penguins have gone, the tourists will not bother either.

The kiwi sign of summer

​The 30 years of our managing the wildlife reserve did not even rate a mention.
It would be bearable if there was another place, in North Otago where penguins are cared for, but there is not. Every chick hatched elsewhere in North Otago this season is dead.

Check us out - our feet have turned pink

​What can we do in 2018 to make a difference? We will continue with our conservation effort and keep recording the evidence of the demise of this colony. Yesterday I was called down to the point because an Asian gentleman was trying to pull a seal pup out from under a rock, and other visitors were concerned that the distraught mother might bite him.

Pohutukawas blooming at the Moeraki colony

Then on dusk, a visitor was buzzing the penguins down at the landing with his drone. He did stop when asked to by another visitor, but the disturbance was a done deal.
Will 2018 bring a better deal for our penguins?         Watch this space
Have a great week!
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