Two injured yellow-eyed penguins should leave with no more than a few ruffled feathers if staff at Dunedin’s new wildlife hospital have any say in it.
The facility, housed at the Otago Polytechnic School of Veterinary Nursing, admitted the two birds yesterday on its first day of operation.
Wildlife vet Lisa Argilla said both had wounds which appeared to have been caused by barracouta bites.
‘‘The injuries are consistent with what we’ve seen in the last few years. This time of year we tend to get an increase of barracouta in the bay.
‘‘It’s a bit of a shame, but hopefully we can fix them up.’’
One would be operated on today and the other tomorrow.
There was a lot of unpacking of equipment and administrative work which needed to be done at the facility, so she had been hoping there would be no patients on the first day, Dr Argilla said.
‘‘But we knew it could happen, so we had some gear ready.’’
How many more patients it would admit throughout the week was anyone’s guess, she said.
Both penguins were found at Penguin Bay in the Catlins by a yellow-eyed penguin researcher.
‘‘Female is quite sweet, but it gave me a bit of a nip.’’
The male was more ‘‘feisty’’.
‘‘He keeps trying to body slam his way out of the cage. He has a broken toe, but that doesn’t seem to be stopping him.’’
Hospital trust co-chairman Steve Walker said it was ‘‘delightful’’ to see the facility finally open.
‘‘It’s the culmination of many months of hard work for many of us on the trust.’’
He encouraged the public to continue to donate.
‘‘We want to thank the public for their help up to now, but we can’t be complacent now. This place will continue to cost a lot to run.’’
