Packed together in safety at the Dunedin Wildlife Hospital last week, yellow-eyed penguin chicks wait patiently for their salmon smoothies. Photo: Dr Lisa ArgillaUp to seven litres of smelly salmon smoothie is being guzzled each day by hungry yellow-eyed penguin chicks at Dunedin Wildlife Hospital. Bad weather and a poor fishing season for hoiho parents in the Catlins has meant the hospital has been overrun with starving chicks since Christmas. In November-December 2018, the wildlife hospital admitted 11 penguin chicks, and total admissions jumped to 41 in January-February. Collected from the beaches in a joint project between the Department of Conservation, the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust and the Wildlife Hospital, the starving chicks are checked over on arrival by wildlife vet Dr Lisa Argilla and her team.

Source: Otago Daily Times February 09, 2019 15:22 UTC