Warning for Wellington dog walkers after kororā found dead

The dead little blue penguin/kororā was found on Wellington's south coast.

By RNZ

A conservation group is warning people to watch their dogs on beaches, after an endangered native penguin was found mauled to death on Wellington’s south coast.

Forest & Bird - Places for Penguins received a message from a member of the public via DoC that had reported a deceased little blue penguin/kororā on Wellington’s south coast.

The kororā, or little blue penguin, was taken to Wellington Zoo for a necropsy.

It was part of a monitored, microchipped population, with an estimated 100,000 left in the wild.

Forest & Bird committee member Brittany Florence-Bennett, who collected the kororā, said she was saddened to find an adult breeding female found dead.

“This female had produced two healthy chicks last season and is one of our most successful breeders so it is a huge loss to the already struggling kororā population,” she said.

The kororā co-ordinator for the New Zealand Penguin Initiative, Katherine Smith, said the species was already under risk from environmental pressures.

“This additional pressure of predator attacks, especially by dogs and dog walkers, is putting that additional pressure on the climbing population,” she said.

“So it is really important for people to be vigilant around the coast.”

Any injured or deceased native wildlife should be reported to the Department of Conservation via their hotline: 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468).