Meet 'Bluey' and 'Tangles', a couple of kororā undergoing care at the hospital. Tangles earned its nickname because it was entangled in seaweed and had suffered some injuries as a result. Bluey has a blue mark on its beak that we use as an identifier to tell them apart, and was found undernourished and underweight. These two little blue penguins were rescued from the same coast around the same time so are keeping each other company as they recover. For some species, keeping them with another of their kind can reduce the stress of being at the hospital.
Penguins need a lot of fish during a hospital stay. If you want to help feed these two, $50 can pay for a bucket of fish. Head to our website at wildlifehospital.co.nz to do#charityt#Fundraisingc#kororā##littlepenguino#littlebluepenguinn#penguinb#birdsg#nzbirdsg#birdsofaotearoar#conservationt#wildliferehaba#wildlifehealthe#wildlifel#wildliferehabilitationl#wildlifehospitalo#siwhl#southislandwildlifehospitallandwildlifehospital ... See MoreSee Less

Sometimes an oceanic bird appears at the hospital that makes us have to do a double check of our species ID. We think this is a Kerguelen Petrel, a first time for us seeing one of these. Petrels usually end up with us due to being storm blown or beach cast, the result of being exhausted and starved. This one is still very weak even after several days of care.
We would love to keep helping the magnificent birds of Aotearoa but our current funding is falling short of our ongoing needs. If you or your business can offer longterm financial support, please visit wildlifehospital.co.nz/ #charity #conservation #Fundraising #bird #birdsofaotearoa #nzbirds #petrel #TubeNose #kerguelenpetrel #wildlife #wildliferehab #wildliferehabilitation #wildlifehospital #siwh #southislandwildlifehospital ... See MoreSee Less

Check out this outstretched wing of a kāhu. Australasian harrier hawks are the largest bird of prey to currently exist in New Zealand. The extinct Haast eagle that used to exist in Aotearoa had a wingspan three times as long as this one.
Vet Micah is assessing the wing for feather and skin damage, bone and ligament injuries, and nerve function. Traumatic injuries, most commonly from cars, are the main cause of these hawks ending up at the hospital.
#wing #bird #feathers #nzbirds #birdsofaotearoa #Hawk #harrierhawk #australasianharrierhawk #kāhu #wildlife #wildlifevet #wildliferehab #wildlifehealth #wildliferehabilitation #wildlifehospital #siwh #southislandwildlifehospital ... See MoreSee Less

Thursday throwback to this mullet-toting penguin that we had at the hospital earlier this year. We often receive little blues in the process of transitioning from juvenile fluff to feathers or moulting adults so this is a regular occurrence at the hospital. #moulting #penguin #penguinchick #littlepenguin #littlebluepenguin #bird #nzbirds #birdsofaotearoa #wildlife #wildlifehealth #wildliferehab #wildliferehabilitation #wildlifehospital #siwh #southislandwildlifehospital ... See MoreSee Less

Let's face it: wildlife are not toilet trained. There's an often romantic view about working with wildlife, but the reality is that there's a lot of cleaning up to do each day. During busy periods, our washer & dryer can be going non-stop, trying to keep up with the piles of towels, bedding and matting that gets covered in 💩.
Thanks to Chemical Solutions Ltd for keeping us supplied with a washing powder that can keep up with our heavy duty needs. And thanks also to our many volunteers who spend a lot of their time taking care of the hygiene and cleanliness of our premises and patients. #cleaning #washing #washingup #wildlife #wildliferehab #wildlifehealth #wildliferehabilitation #wildlifehospital #diseasecontrol #hygiene #siwh #southislandwildlifehospital ... See MoreSee Less

There were many correct guesses so meet the owner of yesterday's foot. Hoiho are the tallest of New Zealand's resident penguin species, with an average weight of 5.5kg for adult males. This juvenile yellow-eyed penguin came into the hospital at 3.7kg and has gained nearly a kilo in weight si#hoihoe#yelloweyedpenguiny#penguinn#nzbirdsn#birdsofaotearoao#wildlife #conservationn#wildliferehabd#wildlifehealthl#wildliferehabilitationb#wildlifehospitalf#siwhi#southislandwildlifehospitalfehospital ... See MoreSee Less

Who has a foot like this? Can you guess which species we have at the hospital right now based solely on its foot? #claws #foot #bird #birdsofaotearoa #nzbirds #wildlife #wildliferehab #wildlifehealth #wildliferehabilitation #wildlifehospital #siwh #southislandwildlifehospital ... See MoreSee Less

Despite the often sad circumstances of how our patients end up with us, it is a privilege to see species of birds that would otherwise be unlikely spotted in the wild. Especially several of the ocean wanderers who spend large portions of their lives out at sea, and typically only land on remote offshore islands to breed.
This is an Antarctic Fulmar, otherwise referred to as a Southern Fulmar. They are a type of petrel and are related to albatrosses. They are normally found over the Southern Ocean, and in summer are circumpolar navigators, cruising the oceans around Antarctica and various subantarctic islands. In winter, they travel further north, periodically popping up around Aotearoa.
#bird #birdsofaotearoa #nzbirds #fulmar #southernfulmar #antarcticfulmar #petrel #TubeNose #wildlife #wildliferehab #wildlifehealth #wildliferehabilitation #wildlifehospital #siwh #southislandwildlifehospital ... See MoreSee Less

Imagine the pain of standing on this. Unfortunately this type of fishing gear had a barbed hook at both ends. And even more unfortunately, this other end had hooked into the patagium which runs across the front of the wing. When this bird reacted to its foot pain, it pulled on its ensnared wing. When it reacted to its wing pain, it pulled on its ensnared foot. By the time we received the bird at the hospital, it had broken 2 bones in its wing and its skin was torn to shreds as a result of this one piece of fishing gear. We were only able to end its suffering and remove its pain by humane euthanasia.
Fishing gear is often unintentionally lost in the environment and many who use it would not mean to injure birds. Like many human impacts on wildlife, the cause and effect are often so far removed from each other that those creating the cause may have no awareness of the effect.
#fishhook #fishinggear #wildlife #wildliferehab #wildlifehealth #wildliferehabilitation #wildlifehospital #conservation #birdsofaotearoa #bird #nzbirds #siwh #southislandwildlifehospital ... See MoreSee Less