More should be done for little blue penguins, says environmentalist

Monday, 2 October 2017

Residents and environmentalists want little blue penguins around Wellington to be safe while nesting.

Dog owners should be responsible for helping to save little blue penguin populations in urban areas, an environmentalist says after an adult bird was found dead at a Wellington reserve.

Te Motu Kairangi-Miramar Ecological founder Joakim Liman called for safer penguin nesting sites after he found the carcass of the dead kororā, or little blue penguin, sprawled on its back and infested with maggots, at a regular nesting site in Oruaiti Reserve, on the Miramar Peninsula.

Breaker Bay, where little blue penguins have been known to nest alongside homes.

He said the penguin was next to the walking path that runs between Worser Bay and Breaker Bay, at the entrance to Wellington Harbour, and he believed the most likely culprit was a dog.

'We didn't know if this was a dog but it is a most common cause of death. [Penguins] have no defence against a dog.

* Little blue penguins found nesting in discarded plastic

* Public encouraged to help protect little blue penguins in Taranaki

* Little Blue penguins attacked by dogs at Kuaotunu, Coromandel**

'Some are having chicks that have hatched, but if the parent dies it means we're losing the whole clutch of eggs as well.'

Little blue penguins lay up to two eggs between July and October, which are incubated for about 40 days before the chicks hatch, between September and December.

The Seatoun penguin's death coincides with calls from a Breaker Bay resident and dog owner Raymond Morgan for Wellington City Council to promote little blue penguin aversion training for dogs and pet owners in the region.

The programme would be similar to the Department of Conservation's kiwi awareness and avoidance lessons, which use electric-shock collars, dead birds and the animals' faeces to help train dogs to stay away from kiwi.

The dog is 'punished' with a small but surprising electric shock whenever it sniffs at the 'tempting' smells.

Morgan said it was important for dog owners to take responsibility and help the region become predator-free, while supporting native species.

'I want to ensure we can safely let the dogs off leads without them going hunting the penguins.

'Ataturk Park is a designated off-lead dog park and I want it to stay that way, but I am also aware of increasing numbers of penguins nesting in the area, and right around the coastlines, that are potentially at risk.'

He said the penguin avoidance training was offered to dog owners in Eastbourne after a community banded together to pay for the Kiwis to Kiwi-based programme. He wanted Wellingtonians to have the same opportunity.

Liman said more should be done to protect the animals, whose natural habitats were encroached upon by human activity, pests, and dogs off leads.

People might not realise little blue penguins nested on walking tracks, because they had 'a secret lifestyle'.

'You're more likely to smell or hear them … there are penguins all over the place.

'They have to live alongside people dogs, cats, hedgehogs, rats, stoats, so of course the numbers are less, but they're still here.'

A better understanding of their habits, nesting sites and knowledge on how to protect species living in the area could be the difference between building populations or demolishing them, he said.

'We can happily live with penguins so long as we know what they need.'