Sad end to first journey of yellow-eyed penguin chick Takaraha

NEW ZEALAND – Takaraha, a juvenile yellow-eyed penguin that captured attention in recent weeks, has been euthanised after suffering a non-survivable injury to its left flipper, believed to be inflicted by a predator.

Takaraha was one of 23 juvenile yellow-eyed penguins being remotely tracked by University of Otago researchers investigating dramatically declining survival rates of the endangered species. The young bird made headlines after setting a blistering speed up the South Island’s east coast on its fledgling journey just over a fortnight ago.

First tracking of yellow-eyed penguin juveniles

NEW ZEALAND – A select group of this season’s yellow-eyed penguin chicks are having their first expeditions into the ocean remotely tracked, as University of Otago researchers investigate dramatically declining survival rates of the endangered species.

Improvements in tracking technology have made the research possible, with transmitters now small enough to fit on yellow-eyed penguins.

Each of the 23 penguins involved in the study is equipped with a satellite tag, transmitting messages to overhead satellites, which triangulate the penguin’s position on the ocean’s surface. Some of the devices are able to send stored GPS positions by text message every two days. The tags are attached to the bird’s lower back using cloth tape under a small patch of feathers, and are secured with cable ties.

'Supercolony' of Adelie penguins discovered in Antarctica

ANTARCTICA – For the past 40 years, the total number of Adélie penguins, one of the most common on the Antarctic peninsula, has been steadily declining – or so biologists have thought. But a new study led by Stony Brook University ecologist Heather Lynch and colleagues from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) is providing new insights about this penguin species. In a Scientific Reports paper, the international research team announced the discovery of a previously unknown “supercolony” of more than 1,500,000 Adélie penguins in the Danger Islands, a chain of remote, rocky islands off of the Antarctic Peninsula’s northern tip.