The penguins are arranged in neat, precisely spaced rows, their wings spread and their bright blue plumage faded by the sand. There are a total of 183, which were meticulously collected by locals, placed out, and photographed for further research. The birds were discovered last week at Ninety Mile Beach, the latest in a long […]
Tag: new zealand
Commercial Fishers Kill Sharks to Retrieve $1 Hooks in New Zealand, Report Finds
Documents collected via the Official Information Act in New Zealand show that commercial fishers in the area have been killing or injuring sharks to retrieve their fishing gear, including hooks that cost as little as $1. The documents come from government observers who worked to oversee commercial longline fleets in the country from 2016 to […]
Feral cats are killing millions of birds each year. Should they be culled?
Cats have long held a special place in the life of ex-breeder and conservationist, Julie Boyd, providing colour and companionship, as well as being keen rodent hunters. On her sprawling rural New Zealand property in the upper North Island town of Kaipara Flats, the cats roam free. “I have an elderly cat- Padme – who […]
Large pod of whales stranded across almost two miles of beach in South Island
Last week, around 30 pilot whales died in New Zealand’s “death trap” following mass beaching in a region known for whale deaths. A pod of around 30 whales was discovered washed up on the beach, stretching for over two kilometres. Mammal strandings are common at the Farewell Spit beach in northern New Zealand’s South Island. […]
‘Super rare’: Antarctic penguin washes up in New Zealand, 3,000km from home
An Antarctic penguin has traversed 3,000km of icy waters to find himself far from home and on new and puzzling shores: the south-eastern coastline of New Zealand. The Adélie penguin in question, affectionately named “Pingu” by locals, was spotted looking somewhat lost at Birdlings Flat, a small settlement on New Zealand’s South Island. It’s only […]
Once a global conservation success story, New Zealand’s black robin in trouble again
Forty years ago, on a remote rocky island in the Pacific, 800km east of New Zealand, a conservationist set out to bring the rarest bird in the world back from the brink of extinction. Don Merton, wearing a check shirt and shorts, climbed 200 metres up the rockface of Little Mangere Island, part of the […]
Hear be kiwis: New Zealand celebrates as distinctive cry of iconic bird returns
It’s a frigid, early-winter night, and across the forests and farmlands of Northland, people are crouching in the dark. They’ve timed this night for the waning moon, so moonlight doesn’t disturb any visitors. Scattered through the night, they sit, silently, and listen. The sound they’re all hoping for is a high-pitched, piercing cry, or guttural […]
Race To Find Beached Baby Orca’s Mother In New Zealand
Wildlife rescuers in New Zealand were scrambling to keep a stranded baby orca alive Wednesday, as volunteers scoured waters off Wellington to find the calf’s mother. The killer whale, a male aged four to six months, washed ashore on rocks just north of the capital on Sunday and was refloated by wildlife officers after distressed […]