Yellow-eyed penguin season ‘disastrous’

One of the most ''disastrous breeding seasons'' in recent years has hit endangered yellow-eyed penguin colonies along Otago's coast.

''This is the worst season I've ever seen and it's not over yet,'' Department of Conservation ranger Mel Young said.

It follows last season's ''mass mortality'' when a mystery illness, possibly caused by a marine toxin, killed 68 adults.

A shortage of food this year meant chicks were struggling to survive the first three months of life – fewer than 70 on Otago Peninsula, compared with more than 200 last season – and those that did were well underweight.

Read the full article at http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/292147/yellow-eyed-penguin-season-disastrous