JESSICA SUTTON

28/12/2011

FAIRFAX NZ/Leilani Hatch

PENGUIN PALACE: Fifteen little blue penguins and a dotterel are taking a break in Palmerston North after being caught up in oily waters after the Rena crisis.

A group of little blue penguins and a dotterell still suffering from ailments after the Rena disaster have been treated to a holiday in Palmerston North.

Staff from Massey University's wildlife centre have been helping hundreds of oiled birds and animals in Tauranga since October 5, when the container ship Rena hit the Astrolabe Reef.
To give staff a break over Christmas, 15 little blue penguins and a dotterel have been brought to Palmerston North for care.
Since October, 313 penguins have been treated and released back into the wild, along with 54 dotterels and four shags. However more than 100 penguins did not survive.

Of the penguins still in captivity, some are recovering from sores on their feet from being on land too long, while the others are enjoying a holiday as the areas they were found in are not yet cleared of oil.
The dotterel is thought to have a fungal pneumonia and is being treated in the wildlife centre's clinic.
To make the penguins feel at home, a makeshift aviary and pools have been set up at the centre's annex at the university's large animal teaching unit.

Centre director Brett Gartrell said the aviary – which included plastic crates as houses, and a pool – was one of the first built when they arrived in Tauranga in October. He said being in captivity was difficult for the penguins, who are used to foraging for food and swimming for hours on end.
"They're tough little buggers," he said. "They'll be keen to head back out [into the ocean]. This isn't their natural environment."

Dr Gartrell said the penguins were swimming in the pools for between one and six hours a day, depending on how recently they were washed of oil.
"When we wash them they lose their water-proofing, and to get that back can take a few weeks."
Penguins' feathers cross over like mesh to create a waterproof layer, meaning the birds can swim for hours on end.
The most recently washed penguins have lost this layer and need to regrow it, otherwise they cannot swim for long.

Although staff have loved looking after the little birds, Dr Gartrell said he would be pleased to see them go – but he is not sure when that will be.
"Those with sores on their feet will be healed in a week or two, but those who have come from areas where there is still oil we don't know. Hopefully no longer than a month. There is still the risk that the other 110 tonnes of oil still on the Rena will wash ashore."

Each bird had been microchipped and tagged and would be taken back to where it was picked up. Massey's wildlife centre is set to reopen on January 3, irrespective of whether Tauranga work is finished.

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