In late November, several cases of avian diptheria (Corynebacterium) were confirmed in yellow-eyed penguin chicks at locations on the Otago Peninsula and North Otago. The disease results in lesions in the mouth and throat, causing respiratory problems and poisoning of young birds. Mortality rate of chicks is thought to be 60% or higher. After further…

The Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust has just completed the first year of a planned five-year study to measure the effects of cat predation on yellow-eyed penguins on Stewart Island’s north-eastern beaches. But instead of cat predation, what we found was an, as yet unexplained, high chick death rate. Because of an apparent decrease in yellow-eyed penguin…

Despite the fact that the first year of our study into the effects of feral cats on hoiho populations on Stewart Island did not show high rates of predation, we still managed to obtain some useful data. Grant Harper’s research in an inland forested area on Stewart Island in 2002 found that the average weight…

Three years of census work by the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust has suggested that penguins may be in decline on Stewart Island. The cause and rate of this decline are not known, but feral cats are suspected to play a role because they are the only land-based predator on Stewart Island large enough to kill a…

The Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust was presented with a cheque for almost $100,000 by Conservation Minister Chris Carter on Saturday. The cheque for $98,383.50 was the first of three which will be presented to the Trust during the next three years to a total of $218,563.50. The money granted after an application to the national Biodiversity…

“Two for the price of one!” Passionate about plants, Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust nursery workers Margaret Suman and Anita Pillai have received funding from Vodafone New Zealand Foundation for 2004. They entered their “World of Difference” competition with the hope of securing one year’s funding for their salaries and expenses to continue their work at the…