Rare penguin visitor takes a detour

King penguins, seen here in their natural setting, usually inhabit the subantarctic islands and breed on Macquarie Island.

The first king penguin known to set its webbed feet on a New Zealand shore in at least 75 years has turned up in Buller.

A single bird of the second-largest penguin species appeared south of Punakaiki at the weekend.

The adult penguin seemed to be in good shape, Department of Conservation (DoC) spokesman John Green said. It was not known whether it was male or female.
King penguins normally live on subantarctic islands south of New Zealand and breed on Macquarie Island.

Seeing one on the mainland was "a real rare event", Mr Green said.

It is the first time a king penguin is known to have appeared on the West Coast and only the third recorded sighting in New Zealand.

The last recorded visit was earlier than 1930.

King penguins grow to almost 1m high, just short of the largest, the emperor penguin, which reaches 1.2m.

Mr Green didn't know why the bird had turned up on the West Coast in the middle of its breeding season, which runs from November to April. The penguins mate for life.

He said DoC would monitor the penguin's progress and hoped it would make its own way home.

Punakaiki residents were asked to take special care with their dogs in the area.

King penguins are kept in captivity at Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World in Auckland.

Meanwhile, blue penguins have disappeared from Charleston, 27km southwest of Westport, and locals fear for the birds' survival.

Helen Chambers, of the Blue Penguin Research Project at Charleston, said adults had deserted their burrows. No chicks were in the area either and locals feared they might have died.

- NZPA