MASTER CLASS real victims of rena
A little blue penguin gets the star wash treatment at the Oiled Wildlife Response Centre. Photo: Maritime New Zealand
Images on this page: Maritime New Zealand
ABOVE: Prime Minister John Key with Little Blue penguins, recovering from their encounter with fuel oil from the container ship Rena.
LEFT: Birds who were casualties of the Rena oil spill At its peak the team cared for just over 400 birds, mainly consisting
of little blue penguins, but also including shags, petrels, shearwaters, and 60 rare dotterels that were pre-emptively caught. A number of fur seals were also resident at the facility for a few days. Teams of wildlife responders led by the Department of Conservation
and other trained personnel scoured the coastline for affected wildlife and brought them back to the centre for treatment. Members of the public were also instrumental in identifying oiled birds at the height of the spill. Kerri says a large team of trained oiled wildlife responders, including ecologists, Regional Council staff from around New Zealand, vets, bird rehabilitators and volunteers, were needed to guide the birds through the centre and back to full health. "Oiled birds that were brought in were checked by a vet to assess vital signs and administer fluids before they were put in a warm environment to stabilise," she says. "The washing process takes a lot out of a bird so they needed to be rested and strong."
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Once they were ready, a team of two then washed the birds individually. "One person held the bird while the other washed the oil out one feather at a time. It was a very time-consuming job." Once clean, the birds had to restore their waterproofing, which
required hours of swimming in pools and preening. Kerri says the logistics behind keeping up to 350 penguins and other birds clean, fed and happy was complex. "The birds needed to be fed twice daily, so we were going through a large amount of anchovies, which had to be defrosted at exactly the right time," she says. "Penguins have to be fed by hand as they don't eat dead fish on their own." The birds also received regular health checks from vets, while another team kept the purpose-built aviaries clean. Kerri says the experience was a challenging, but ultimately
rewarding experience. "The team has planned and trained for an event like this for a long time, and while you never want to have to put that training to use, I'm really proud of the way the team responded to the situation."
