Starving penguin influx straining resources

A sudden influx of 80 mostly starving yellow-eyed penguins is stretching the resources of Otago Peninsula's penguin ''hospital''.

''Some, when they first came in, looked awful. They were skinny and sunken-in,'' Penguin Place rehabilitation co-ordinator Julia Clement said.

About 80kg of fish is needed each day to help the penguins gain enough weight so they can head out to sea with a good chance of survival.

It is thought a lack of food at sea is the result of high sea temperatures, which means adults are coming back to feed their chicks less frequently – and with less food.

Read the full article at http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/292178/starving-penguin-influx-straining-resources