5.00pm
Five rescued penguins were settling in for a stint at Napier's Marineland today, after a 350km flight from Auckland by Origin Pacific yesterday.
The five include sightless Blind Elvis and another penguin that rejected wilderness freedom on an island near Auckland. After release there it turned around and swam all the
way back to Auckland, losing half its body weight in the process.
Auckland Bird Rescue members delivered the five newcomers to Marineland's penguin recovery centre during the weekend, bringing the number of penguins at the marine zoo to 32.
Manager Gary Macdonald said they had settled in well in the seal pool, where they were in quarantine.
Blind Elvis, which seemed destined to become a star because of the amount of noise he made, would stay at Marineland.
The other four would soon be assessed for release back into the wild. Marineland tried to move recovered penguins out as soon as possible, usually after a couple of weeks, before they became accustomed to handling and hand-feeding.
However, their recovery could take several months, depending on their injuries and size, and Marineland did not throw birds out in the middle of winter, when food was scarce and the sea was rough.
The newcomers were expected to become instant attractions in addition to the 27 penguins already resident.
Blue penguins are found around the North Island coast.
- HAWKE'S BAY TODAY
Herald Feature: Conservation and Environment
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