Rubbish and glass found in the stomach of Ōamaru penguin

Glass, plastic and sharp metals were found in the penguin's stomach.

Ōamaru Penguin Colony researchers have found large pieces of glass, plastics, and metal in a little blue penguin’s stomach.

Staff dissected the bird as part of a study looking into the diets of New Zealand’s smallest penguin species.

The birds are the smallest breed of penguin in New Zealand.

Henry Elsom, the environmental team lead at Ōamaru Blue Penguin Colony, said he was shocked by the team’s discovery.

“I’ve never seen things like that inside a penguin’s stomach – I really wasn’t expecting it," he said.

“As penguins come into egg laying, they do consume small stones and shell fragments to restore calcium in their body.

“But when I opened the stomach, I was quite surprised to find sharp fragments of glass, metal, and plastic in there as well.

“When I think of little penguins, I don’t really think of ingesting macro plastics being a problem.”

But birds weren’t just consuming rubbish, but also using it to build nests, he said, and it was a timely reminder for people to be cautious when disposing of rubbish.

“One of the pieces of rubbish was a tab from a can,” he said.

“It’s people just throwing things on the ground. I often encounter beer bottles and the like.”

Penguins use rubbish to build their nests.

Elsom said species numbers had been classified as declining, but conservation efforts stabilised the local population.

Everyone could do their bit when it came to looking after little blue penguins, he said.

“If you’re out walking in coastal areas and you see rubbish, of any size, even these very small fragments, pick them up and put them in the bin.

“Then you’ll be doing your part as well.”

Jazlyn Whales is a multimedia journalist based in the Christchurch newsroom.