Napier Port has welcomed the hatching of their first kororā/little blue penguins of the year. Photo / Warren Buckland
Napier Port has welcomed the hatching of their first kororā/little blue penguins of the year. Photo / Warren Buckland
As the Kardashian family exit the world of reality television, two Hawke's Bay penguin chicks are aiming to take their mantle and feather their nests with fame.
Napier Port will soon become the set of a new bird-based reality show - a livestream called Keeping Up With the Kororā.
Itwill follow the port's world-first penguin sanctuary which has just welcomed its first kororā/little penguins of the year.
As part of its 6 Wharf expansion, Napier Port last year developed the first on-port sanctuary of its kind in New Zealand to protect the at-risk and declining species.
Two chicks were hatched at the sanctuary on Monday and the port announced it will be livestreaming the early stages of their lives.
Napier Port environmental adviser Paul Rose said the two new additions are the first penguins to hatch for 2020.
"The chicks are only very little, but are doing well," he said.
The livestream will be placed on Napier Port's website and YouTube channel.
"We've put a camera in that box to capture their actions and you'll be able to see what the two chicks are up to," Rose said.
A total of 150 individual penguins have been microchipped at Napier Port since their sanctuary opened in 2018.
Napier Port environmental adviser Paul Rose checking on a penguin nesting box. Photo / Warren Buckland
Rose said microchipping is a critical part of tracking their movements around the region and beyond.
"Each penguin gets an individual serial number, so I can tell what day we moved it and to where," he said.
"The chicks will be microchipped too, so we'll be able to see if they return and when they are adults, where they make their homes."
Despite being an industrial area, Rose said the port sanctuary provides a safe space for penguins as it is free from threats such as dogs, cats and humans.
It's been a tough year for the species, with the New Zealand Bird Rescue Charitable Trust saying recently it had received reports of dead penguins on beaches around the North Island, which may have been connected to the La Nina weather pattern.
In the longer-term, the port believes the sanctuary will help to boost the local population and contribute to the international body of knowledge on the species.
