KEY POINTS:
The last of 32 yellow-eyed penguins hatched on Stewart Island this summer has died.
Big Fluffy, the sole survivor at 109 days old, died from a blood parasite late last month just metres from his nest on the island's northwestern coast.
"This is devastating. Big Fluffy was just days away from venturing out to sea and to find him dead was a complete bombshell," said Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust southern islands projects officer Sandy King.
When last seen alive on February 19, the chick was fully feathered, of a good weight and had plenty of fat reserves, making his chances of survival at sea above average.
The carcass was sent to Massey University for an autopsy, which confirmed the presence of the blood parasite.
It is a knockback in the worst breeding season since the trust began a five-year study to investigate why Stewart Island's yellow-eyed penguin population is declining. Massey University's results suggest that the blood parasite is present among adults but does not kill them.
Meanwhile, all is not well with kea, several of which have been found dead from lead poisoning in Aoraki Mt Cook National Park.
Recent blood testing of birds in the village found 90 per cent with lead levels higher than considered safe in humans.
Mt Cook Department of Conservation ranger Ray Bellringer said the most likely sources of poisoning were lead-headed nails and lead flashings on older buildings.
Research by a Massey University student showed takahe and harrier hawks also suffered from lead poisoning ingested from paint-contaminated ground and, for the hawks, from feeding on animals that had been shot.
- NZPA
