Aviaries built for rescued penguins

NZ Newswire  

October 25, 2011

Builders are racing to finish aviaries for the long-term care of hundreds of little blue penguins rescued following the oil spill from the cargo ship Rena. They aim to finish three out of 10 aviaries on Tuesday for some of the 379 live birds in the care of the Wildlife Response Centre at Mt Maunganui. The 379 captured birds including 60 New Zealand dotterels, one shearwater, one tern, three pied shags and 314 little blue penguins.

Nearly 1400 birds have been found dead since the Rena ran aground off the Tauranga coast on October 5 and spilled about 350 tonnes of heavy fuel oil into the ocean. Post-mortems are being done to determine whether the birds died because of oiling. It is too early to say when the captured penguins will be released but the response team wants to ensure they are nourished and healthy first, oiled wildlife response manager manager Kerri Morgan says. The aviaries are designed to house the penguins more comfortably long term, and each has an indoor pool and communal areas for the birds to preen, feed and swim, she says.

Each one can house about 25 penguins. Feeding them properly is important. "We use either sprats or anchovies and need to ensure that none of the natural oils from the fish get on the birds' feathers as this can damage their natural waterproofing." The penguins have one swim per day which lets them condition and preen their feathers so they can re-waterproof.

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