Two experts have been employed to try to understand and curb the drastic drop in yellow-eyed penguin numbers.
The Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust has brought in Trudi Webster as chief science adviser to try to pinpoint if a marine-based phenomenon is killing penguins and, if so, what it is.
Dr Webster started on Monday and was enthusiastic about her new role.‘‘I feel like it's a fairly natural move for me. So far, it's going well. The ultimate goal would be for things to improve for the penguins.''
Dr Webster had been in Dunedin for eight years and studied marine science at the University of Otago. She completed her PhD on whales in 2014 and worked with the Otago Peninsula Trust and as assistant curator at the Otago Museum.
The focus in her new role would be getting to know stakeholders, assessing literature and working in the field with organisations including the Department of Conservation.
‘‘I support the trust and make sure they have the most up-to-date science and look at where we can focus research in the future,'' Dr Webster said.
Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust general manager Sue Murray said marine-based work would be Dr Webster's focus.
‘‘The issues over the last four years have all been marine-based,'' Ms Murray said. ‘‘From the trust's perspective, it's a huge milestone for the trust to get to this position.''
Overall numbers of breeding pairs of yellow-eyed penguins were down in Otago-Southland from 491 pairs in 2012 to between 160 and 190 pairs this season.
The drastic drop had been attributed to several things, including barracouta attacks, avian diphtheria in chicks and starvation.
‘‘They're at the lowest for 25 years. We needed to do something,'' Ms Murray said.
The Otago Regional Council provided 70% of the funding for Dr Webster's position, with the remainder coming from the trust and the Otago Museum. It was a collaborative initiative between the trust, the museum, the ORC and the Dunedin City Council.
ORC chief executive Peter Bodeker said helping the yellow-eyed penguin was important.
‘‘This is an iconic part of Otago's biodiversity. The best way of assisting and trying to find some answers around the penguin is to provide some funding. We want to help the colony.''
The trust also raised $13,500 for the purpose of employing a specialist penguin vet for six weeks during the breeding season.
Wildlife vet Lisa Argilla started with the trust in mid-January specifically to help with injured and sick penguins. She had already operated on five ‘‘seriously injured'' penguins.
Before she was appointed, sick and injured penguins were transported to the North Island by air for treatment, which lowered the chances of survival.
For the past five years, Dr Argilla has been veterinary science manager at Wellington Zoo.
She has been using Otago Polytechnic's vet hospital facilities in exchange for upskilling students.
