Penguin deaths highlight lack of knowledge
Penguin deaths at Curio Bay in the Catlins highlight the lack of knowledge of what is happening to the yellow-eyed at sea, the Department of Conservation says.
At New Year, a DOC volunteer ranger discovered one chick had died of starvation and another disappeared from one of the two remaining nests at the south Catlins-based site in Southland.
DOC Technical advisor for species and ecosystem Bruce McKinlay said the ranger had noted a lack activity around the nest and reported it.
‘‘Before Christmas, the chicks were small but healthy, but that changed after new year.’’
The remaining chick’s carcass was found at the bottom of the nest, having starved to death in the five to seven days of the adult’s absence.
He believed that the parent had failed to return from sea, which highlighted the fact DOC did not yet have the answers for the Curio Bay death, which typified what was happening ‘‘up and down the coast’’ with the mainland breeding pairs down to about 212 this season.
‘‘It’s clear something happened to the adult. We know when something happens to chicks, and while it’s sad, chicks die for all sorts of reasons. But it is equally concerning when it happens to an adult, because we know the least about them.
‘‘We would like to know what is going on out at sea and why they didn’t come back, but we won’t be able to answer that now.’’
McKinley hoped the recently introduced tracking devices would ‘‘paint a picture’’ on where the penguins were going and what they were encountering.
‘‘Whether that will lead to an instantaneous change in what we do and how we manage things, I don’t know.’’
However, it was clear ‘‘that we’re not getting it right, and it’s going to take time to get to the bottom of it’’, he said.
He did not believe that visitors were impacting on Curio Bay.
Although concerning, it was important to put the loss into perspective, he said. It was one nest failure, and Curio Bay normally only supported about five nests, he said.
There were many other factors in penguin behaviour to consider, including the fact they were good at ‘‘moving house’’ and did shift around.
‘‘We would like to know what is going on out at sea and why they didn’t come back . . .’’
Bruce McKinlay, DOC Technical advisor for species and ecosystem