Injured little blue penguin found on Fitzroy Beach

DEENA COSTER

July 5 2015

Sam Scannell

 

An injured little blue penguin has been sent to Palmerston North for treatment after being found on New Plymouth's Fitzroy Beach on Saturday.

Just days after a little blue penguin was returned home after being nursed back to health, another bird has been found injured on the New Plymouth coastline.
Department of Conservation worker Denise Goodman received a phone call about 11.45am on Saturday after a little blue penguin was seen by a member of the public on Fitzroy Beach struggling to breathe."There was obviously something wrong with the little guy," she said.

Sam Scannell

Department of Conservation worker Denise Goodman tends to an injured little blue penguin found on Fitzroy Beach.

Goodman said after she arrived to check the status of the little blue penguin, she also noticed an injury to its neck.  She made immediate contact with the bird rescue team who met Goodman and the injured penguin in Patea before the bird was transported to the Massey University Wildbase Hospital in Palmerston North for treatment.

Last Wednesday, a little blue penguin was released in Rahotu after a two month stay at the Massey University Wildbase Recovery Centre. The penguin, believed to have been attacked by a dog, was found in a bad way by Rahotu surfcaster Chris Goodin on April 22.

After the penguin was stitched up, it underwent a therapy programme to build up its muscle strength again before it returned to the area. However, Goodman ruled out speculation that Saturday's injured penguin might have been the same one released last week.  While there was a weight difference between the two, the geographical distance was also another factor, she said. "They (little blue penguins) typically stay where they were born and where their nest is."

She said in this case the neck injury did not look like a dog bite but was grateful to have received the call from the concerned citizen who found the little blue penguin in trouble. "If it was left at the beach, it would have died," she said. She planned to check on the penguin's health on Monday but said once its treatment was finished, it would also return to New Plymouth to be released back into the wild.

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