Baby penguins saved from seals
Two brave little blue penguin chicks have been saved from the elements and a horde of hungry seals thanks to chance and a combined rescue effort.
The penguin chicks, believed to be about three to four weeks old, were alone and in the open when found on Tuesday by Port Taranaki staff and Ngati Te Whiti hapu members, who were inspecting a rock fall at Mikotahi Rock.
Mikotahi Rock, which is inside the port’s operational area, is made of sandstone and prone to erosion.
It is a taonga for the hapu, and the port consults with Ngati Te Whiti when any work, such as clearing fallen rock, needs to be done.
The area is also a haven and breeding ground for New Zealand fur seals.
On Tuesday more than 40 seals were in the water and on the rocks basking in the sun when the discovery was made.
Returning from their visit to the rock, Ngati Te Whiti members saw some movement among the flax.
‘‘We thought ‘what the heck is that’,’’ Ngati Te Whiti chairperson Andrys Underwood said.
‘‘We saw flies hanging around and thought it may have been a dead rat, but when we parted the leaves we found the two little penguins.’’
The chicks’ parents were nowhere to be seen – either hiding or running their own gauntlet through the seal colony to swim out to sea and collect food for their young.
While Ngati Te Whiti members kept guard, Port Taranaki staff contacted DOC, who were quick to deliver a penguin nesting box to the site.
‘‘We generally have a minimum intervention approach, but it was necessary for their safety to put a box there and keep it close to the area they were nesting,’’ DOC senior ranger biodiversity Callum Lilley said.
The chicks were placed in the nesting box and took to their new home straight away. It was hoped the absent parents would do the same on their return.
And the story has a happy ending. Later in the evening, during a check of the area by a Port Taranaki staff member, one of the adults and a chick were spotted outside the entrance to the nesting box.
‘‘We were really, really hoping the parents would come back. There are no guarantees but hopefully it will work out,’’ Lilley said.