Penguin signs for motorists
Little blue penguin advocates hope new warning signs may help the birds cross Golden Bay roads more safely.
The Mohua (Golden Bay) Blue Penguin Trust had two solarpowered signs installed last week to warn motorists that penguins may be crossing the road.
The signs are located on the Po¯hara end of Abel Tasman Drive, and the other at the Ligar Bay end. The signs light up with the words ‘‘PENGUINS CROSSING’’ when a vehicle approaches and are only activated during the nesting season and at night.
Officially called korora¯, the world’s smallest penguins are roughly the height of a rugby ball and weigh about 1 kilogram.
The charitable trust was formed last year to protect the atrisk bird and has been working hard to halt its declining population. The birds were once common in Golden Bay but coastal development has removed their nesting sites and introduced new threats, including
vehicles when the birds cross the road to lay eggs and raise chicks.
Trust chair Cynthia McConville said the latest monitoring of the new nesting boxes had seen a ‘‘chick explosion’’ of 70 new penguin chicks.
She said this was the first time any base information had been collected on little blue penguins in Golden Bay, so could not compare numbers with last year.
She hoped people on the road from Po¯hara to Ligar Bay would slow down and drive with care at night. ‘‘Every penguin we lose to a road death is times three. Eggs and chicks will be abandoned by a single parent. Last year, we lost six penguins we knew of on that stretch of road.
‘‘The active traffic management signs will bring with them a greater awareness.
‘‘The area from Po¯hara to Tata contains the most significant population of little blue penguins in Golden Bay,’’ McConville said.
The total cost of the project was about $29,000, of which $16,830 was awarded by the Lottery Environment and Heritage Committee. The remainder of the funds came from Top of the South Foundation, Tasman District Council and the trust itself.