Thirty more little blue penguins were released on Mount Maunganui main beach today, watched by a crowd of around 200.
Students from Bellevue Primary, Omanu Primary, Mount Maunganui Primary, Tahatai Coast School and Tauranga Primary schools were on hand to watch the wee penguins speed out from their boxes and
away into the water.
The kids were clearly captivated by the seabirds as they milled on the beach before getting their bearings and sprinting off into the sea. Karmjit Sandhu, 11, a Year 6 student from Tahatai Coast School, said the release was one of the best sights he'd ever seen.
``It was one of the most exciting things that's ever happened to me,'' he said.
145 penguins have now been released, although today's batch was only the second time the releases had been available to the public.
There are 199 of the wee seabirds left in captivity. Oiled Wildlife Centre co-ordinator Kerri Morgan said there would likely be one more release event open to the public.
``We'll probably do the last release for the Mount as a public one,'' she said.
