Drivers urged to be wary of waddlers

Drivers urged to be wary of waddlers

Last updated 05:00 28/03/2009

The little blue penguin population is being hit hard by traffic on the West Coast's main highway, conservationists say.

The West Coast Blue Penguin Trust says 45 birds were killed on State Highway 6 last year.

Trust adviser Fiona McDonald, who has been monitoring penguin numbers and deaths, said six were killed and one injured this month.

There had been about 40 breeding pairs on a beach near Punakaiki in 2007, but she found only 13 last year.



She had taken one wounded bird, named Pedro, to live at Christchurch's International Antarctic Centre on Tuesday.

"He had head injuries and had been blinded in one eye. It was the lesser of two evils either take him to the International Antarctic Centre or put him back into the sea, where he'd face certain death," she said.

Trust co-ordinator Karen Mayhew said heavy vehicles and tourist traffic on the highway were responsible for many of the deaths.

She urged motorists to be vigilant.

"Localised extinction is possible and something we have heard about elsewhere," she said.

The penguins were likely to be on the road at dawn and just after midnight, when they returned to the land from the sea.

Signs warned people to be wary of the penguins, but the trust was looking into whether fencing could be added in some areas to combat the problem.

The best solution was underpasses, Mayhew said, but they could cost "tens of thousands" of dollars.

Story courtesy of Stuff@
http://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-newspapers/west-coast-6013/2297657/Drivers-urged-to-be-wary-of-waddlers
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