The hoiho/yellow-eyed penguin recently won the Forest & Bird ‘‘Bird of the Year’’ competition, after an intensive campaign led by Tuhura Otago Museum and Wild Dunedin, as the fight continues to ensure their survival on the mainland.
Dunedin Wildlife Hospital manager Jordana Whyte said the vet teams, hailing from Auckland Zoo, Sea Life Kelly Tarlton’s Aquarium, Wellington Zoo and here in Dunedin, would be caring for up to 90 chicks at any one time throughout hoiho hatching season, which would run into December.
‘‘By the end of Monday, we had about 90 chicks in hospital, so it is definitely all hands to the pump,’’ Ms Whyte said.
Department of Conservation rangers and partner organisations across the south were uplifting three to four day-old chicks from nests, and 18 eggs were also being kept for hatching at the hospital.
Across the season, more than 150 hoiho chicks from Otago Peninsula, Catlins and North Otago breeding sites would be cared for at the hospital.
In addition, chicks from islands off Rakiura/Stewart Island would be under vet care for a longer period — up to 35 days.
Eggs were also being uplifted from the hard-to-access Green Island breeding colony, off the coast of Waldronville.
‘‘We generally get them in as young as two or three days, and care for them until they are about five days to a week old, in good health and weighing about 300g,’’ Ms Whyte said.
‘‘At that stage, they are strong enough to go back out to nests.’’
The reason for the massive effort was the devastating impact of avian diphtheria, which had now spread to virtually all of the hoiho colonies and nests on mainland New Zealand.
This bacterial infection caused lesions in the mouths of the tiniest chicks and very few were able to survive it on their own.
However, hospital care and lots of fish slurry was enough for most chicks to be strong enough to return to nests.
In past years, the intensive care approach had had more than a 90% success rate in getting the hoiho chicks through the critical early days.
‘‘We keep them for as little time as possible, depending on their health, and thankfully this level of intervention usually works,’’ Ms Whyte said.
‘‘It is very labour intensive, but without treatment for avian diphtheria, they would die.’’
Providing health care and food for the chicks was also helpful for their parents, who were under enormous pressure at this time of year to hatch and feed chicks, followed quickly by needing to fatten up for moulting.
■The Dunedin Wildlife Hospital has launched its 2024 ‘‘Baby Shower’’ fundraising campaign, aiming to raise $30,000 to cover about 10% of the hospital’s annual hoiho budget.
For more information, visit www.wildlifehospitaldunedin.org.nz