Tawaki ‘TED’ talk from Tawaki Ranger, Robin Long

Robin Long

Robin Long – Tawaki Ranger and Trustee with the West Coast Penguin Trust and volunteer with The Tawaki Project – speaks about the tawaki, or Fiordland crested penguin, in this talk published on Vimeo this week, sharing the results of work she has carried out or been involved in over the past 10 years, especially […]

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NZ Penguin Initiative after its first year

Tawaki passing through transponder gate Harrison Cove

The NZ Penguin Initiative is all about penguin conservation action and has just released its fourth quarter report after a busy year. On top of work with tawaki and Erect-crested penguins, the NZPI has worked with the West Coast Penguin Trust to learn more about the foraging of blue penguins and to learn more about […]

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DOC confirms confidence in Trust with three year grant

2018 10 Blue penguin r - Okarito survey - Robin Long

DOC Community Fund grants have just been announced and the West Coast Penguin Trust is delighted to have been granted funds to support three years of work. Trust Manager, Inger Perkins, said the almost full approval of the Trust’s application demonstrates DOC’s confidence in the Trust. “We are thrilled with this outcome.  The confidence shown […]

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Penguin talks in Westport Friday 15th November

For the first time in a long time, the West Coast Penguin Trust will be in Westport this Friday to deliver an update on our projects and Kerry-Jayne Wilson will present a not to be missed talk for all penguin lovers “The World of Penguins”. Talks start at 7.00pm, Friday 15th November at REAP Hall, […]

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Five year tawaki study report released

Tawaki with transmitter - Thomas Mattern

Trust Tawaki Coalition partner, Dr Thomas Mattern/The Tawaki Project, has just released his report following five years of field work studying the Fiordland crested penguin or tawaki across their range, from Jackson Head in South Westland, via Harrison Cove in Milford Sound to Codfish Island/Whenua Hou. Since 2014, Dr Mattern and his team have been […]

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The state of NZ penguins

2019 04 The State of NZ Penguins graphic - mattern and wilson

Kerry-Jayne Wilson MNZM and Dr Thomas Mattern have completed a comprehensive review of the state of NZ penguins and it has been released today. “This is a review of all that we know, and don’t know about all six NZ penguins, with a list of research and conservation management priorities for each species” said Kerry-Jayne. […]

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Tawaki – marathon penguins

Paparoa Coast from Irimahuwhero Lookout 1200

The tawaki is one of the least studied and rarest penguin species in the world.  17 tawaki were tracked over 8-10 weeks and they travelled up to 2,500km from their breeding colony, some travelling up to 7000 km in total.  This is an extraordinary feat bearing in mind that penguins generally use this time to […]

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