New Zealand Penguins Head Back To Sea

The Penguin Post has learned that the first group of penguins that have been re-habbing since the Rena oil spill last week have been released.  Yesterday, sixty penguins spent a gruelling half dozen hours swimming non-stop in preparation for their final waddle and swim to freedom this morning. The micro-chipped penguins, who were released on the beach this morning, spent yesterday swimming (training) in their pools in practice for the big day. Dr Brett Gartrell, head of the oiled wildlife centre at Te Maunga, said the marathon swim was crucial to make sure the released penguins could handle the rigours of life beyond their pens. “We’re simulating the fact the penguins have to spend the whole day out on the water. “We’ve even had a couple go to sleep during the test, which is good, it shows they’re relaxed,” he said. After the six-hour swim the birds needed to be checked over to make sure their feathers were completely waterproof. Only six of the birds failed the waterproofing test and will be held back to get stronger before being released at a later date.

The penguins, released on Mount Maunganui beach at Shark Alley, between Leisure Island and Rabbit Island, were all brought in from areas nearby and Dr Gartrell said they should easily find their way home. We know exactly where each bird has come from. They’re from Leisure Island, Rabbit Island and Pilot Bay. It’s all within easy swimming distance for a penguin. They have a better navigational sense than we do. Most of the time they’ll go back to the same burrows over and over again,” he said. No penguins were being released from colonies on Matakana or Motiti Islands or from the seaward side of Mauao because those areas were not yet considered clean enough. Dr. Gartrell said the salinity levels of the pools were being increased to get the penguins used to salt water again after spending so much time in fresh water pools.

Two shags were released on Sunday and Dr. Gartrell said it was an emotional moment seeing the first birds released. “I believe there were people with tears in their eyes. It was a brilliant moment. For a long time we’ve been in a holding pattern, it was starting to feel like it was going to go on forever. But it was great.” He said the first penguins would be another milestone but there was still more work to do at the center. “I tell you, it’ll feel great [releasing the first penguins], but it won’t feel as good as releasing the very last penguins,” he said. He said the centre expected to release birds in batches about every five days, depending on the penguins’ preparedness. Of the 360 penguins taken into care, only about 20 have died.

The first 60 penguins being released on the beach.

Meanwhile, at the scene of the oil spill salvors battled winds reaching more than 40 knots (74km/h) to remove a further 21 containers from the stern of Rena. Seventy containers have now been removed. Maritime New Zealand salvage unit manager Arthur Jobard said the salvage team had done well to remove so many containers in the windy conditions. “They have still managed to remove a good number of containers, which is excellent.” Mr Jobard said containers landing ashore at the Port of Tauranga were being efficiently processed by container recovery company Braemar Howells.

Penguin Hotel

A guest at the Penguin Hilton

As told to the Penguin Post life’s just fine for the 320 rescued residents of the “Penguin Hilton” at Te Maunga in Southern New Zealand. Oiled Wildlife Center manager Brett Gartrell tells us these penguins are being cared for “as if they were staying at a Hilton.”  After going through the oil removal process the little blue penguins are settling in and getting used to their luxurious accommodations.  The newbies, who are still in recovery, get to swim in a pool every day, but the birds whose feathers have largely regained their waterproofing get to live in the enclosures. They hang out by the pool all day, get catered meals, and the staff bring in upturned fish bins for the birds to roost under at night. Brett says when leaving at night, the center staff hear the penguins “talking” and they’re still at it when they arrive back in the morning.

Penguins in their pool

“When they first come in they’re pretty terrified of us, but fortunately for us and the penguins they lose their fear pretty quickly,” says Brett.  Stressed birds bite.   To put into context the type of care that these birds receive, only 10 ( less than 3%) of the oiled penguins rescued have died since their arrival.   Most of the recovering birds are little blue penguins, and they are the ones that have recovered best.  Each of the penguin enclosures can comfortably hold 30-40 penguins and they are fine, says Brett.

The swimming tanks

Upon arrival, oiled birds’ first stop is a heated tent where they are fed and allowed to regain their strength for a few days before they start on the washing process. It is very stressful for a wild bird and involves being handheld for 30-40 minutes while its feathers are soaked in canola oil to lift up the heavy fuel oil – and then washed off with detergent.  After a trial and error process using a variety of detergents, it was discovered that Dawn detergent works best. Upon hearing of this penguin cleaning revelation, U.S. detergent manufacturer Proctor and Gamble didn’t miss a beat and immediately donated and flew 2000 pounds of Dawn from the United States to New Zealand.  Brett has no idea why Dawn reduces wash time by 20-30 minutes, but it just does.  The locally available detergents just didn’t really cut through the heavy fuel oil, and when washing 30 – 40 birds a day that extra half hour can be very important, although the heavy volume of penguins needing a cleaning has diminished the past few days. “We’re just waiting for the last few to come in for a good for washing,” says Brett. After the wash they go through the rinse, now held in the original mobile unit, a former shipping container Massey University has on standby for such an eventuality. After the 15-20 minute rinse the birds are basically in recovery. They are still unable to be released into the wild because the penguins feathers aren’t waterproof, but they do get to swim in a pool each day. “But, because they’re not waterproof after an hour in the pool they’re brought back in to dry off,” says Brett. “The stress levels in the birds go down amazingly once they can get out and have a swim.” The birds being ready for the new enclosures signal their readiness by taking longer and longer to get out of the pool, and take to circling the center when it’s time to dry off and warm up.  The pools at “penguin city” are fresh water because all the wastewater and tank run off has to be able to recycle through the Tauranga City Council’s wastewater treatment plant. “Over the course of a week we will put them in a pool and gradually bring them back up to oceanic salt,” says Brett. The specialized enclosure units are filling with birds that are ready to go back to the sea, says Brett.  But, the staff and penguins are also waiting until the immediate threat of the oil spill is removed, so they don’t end up back at the center again.

Guests Soaking Up The Sun at The Penguin Hotel