Penguins dying of hunger

Blue penguin chicks at Oamaru are starving to death because of a shortage of food at sea.

Waitaki Development Board general manager Susan Houston says 22 chicks have died at Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony and at the mouth of Oamaru Creek.

Staff became concerned two weeks ago when monitoring showed the chicks were losing weight as their parents were unable to feed them adequately.
Ms Houston said spotted shags were also affected and had abandoned their breeding season.

The Department of Conservation's Dave Houston, who helped set up the Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony, said a sudden food shortage had occurred in the past few weeks.

- NZPA