penguin exhibit at the International Antarctic Centre

the penguin enclosure at the International Antarctic Centre in Christchurch. The exhibit opened in 2006 and currently houses 17 little blue penguins and 7 white-flippered penguins. The little blues came from the Napier Marineland and the white-flippered are local Canterbury birds. All individuals are rehab birds (except for a couple bred in the enclosure) and are handicapped by such things as damaged flippers, broken beaks, blindness, etc.

This shot shows the front (largest) viewing window. There are a few penguins visible at the right above the water. To the left side can be seen another viewing window and at the back is an open-fronted viewing area.

March 2011

There are plenty of blue penguins in captivity all over Australia and New Zealand and as they are not endangered I don't know why they are the only ones that can be rehabilitated if found sick or injured on beaches.
Anyone here heard of Janice Jones who rehabilitates rare species of yellow eyed and crested penguins. She has a penguin hospital near the Moeraki boulders and works really hard on a shoestring budget which isn't fair as these species are on the verge of extinction.
Why can't places like the Antarctic centre rehabilitate the rare species too? I saw an episode of wild vets where a yellow eyed penguin was attacked by a shark. If it couldn't survive in the wild it would have to be put down. Luckily it survived but if it hadn't it would have had to be killed. A disgrace considering it is an endangered species.

zebra finch said:

Anyone here heard of Janice Jones who rehabilitates rare species of yellow eyed and crested penguins. She has a penguin hospital near the Moeraki boulders and works really hard on a shoestring budget which isn't fair as these species are on the verge of extinction.

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I hadn't heard of the penguin hospital/trust, but I've looked it up and it sounds like an interesting project, thanks for bringing it up.

zebra finch said:

Luckily it survived but if it hadn't it would have had to be killed.

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I know I'm quoting out of context but this line puts a little grin on my face.

Janice Jones and her husband ran a hospital for sick and injured penguins in a sparsely populated area of the South island. Her husband has since died and she retired and now Rosalie Goldsworthy is carrying on the work. I think The New Zealand Wildlife Act 1953 prohibits captive breeding of yellow eyed and Fiordland penguins.

there are several rehabilitation centres for penguins around NZ, and they are all under licence from DoC. Sometimes injured birds are put down, sometimes not, but just because a penguin can't be returned to the wild doesn't mean it has to be put into a zoo! As I told you in other threads, little blues are so common in zoos because so many are brought in by members of the public injured (by dogs, cars, fishing, etc), whereas yellow-eyeds and Fiordlands are much less common and much more restricted in range.

The NZ Wildlife Act in itself does not prohibit captive breeding of penguins, it is legislation covering the protection/regulation of native and introduced species. Meaning if you just took some penguins off the beach and tried to set up a breeding programme in your back yard you would by charged under the Wildlife Act because you are holding absolutely-protected wildlife illegally, but any species in NZ may be kept and bred in captivity if a Wildlife Act Permit is granted by DoC. However there are no (and probably never will be) permits for breeding yellow-eyeds and Fiordlands because (again, as I already told you in other threads) there is no purpose to it.

Part of the reason I am concerned about yellow eyed and crested penguins and indeed all our endangered species is that we are ruled by a Prime Minister who doesn't give a stuff about our environment.
John Key has in his first term cut $54 million off Department of Conservation and last year cut 96 jobs off it as well. Environmentalists warned that if John Key got in for another term worse is yet to come for our endangered species and guess what? he got back in AGAIN.
His offsider Gerry Brownlee wants to drill for oil in the sea threatening penguins. Remember the Rena? It killed 20 000 birds. what if there had been a 'Rena' off Fiordland or Otago? it could wipe out ALL the penguins. There are only 8000 hoiho and tawaki combined. While Auckland zoo has Te Wao Nui not all species can be crammed into the four hectares at this zoo.