The response to the call to Tell Us Your Penguin stories has been fantastic.
Historical records were sent in from the majority of coastal towns including Waverly, Opunake, Okato, Oakura, several locations in New Plymouth, Urenui, Onaero and Mokau. Some records were also sent in from a person who used to live in the Marlborough Sounds about a family that had a pet penguin in the 1920’s) that used to follow them around the house.
The most common historical records collected were from Oakura, Onaero and Urenui. Some of the stories are really sad and others are hilarious. Penguins really are true characters.
People who have lived on the coast for many years, and in some cases decades, reported a catastrophic decline in blue penguins. Oakura is one township that had a thriving population of penguins that were regularly seen coming ashore or out at sea during the 1980s.
Clive Neeson, who has decades of penguin stories, photos and videos, is one person who remembers sitting in the evenings and watching penguins coming ashore – now there are none.
He also recalls that while making a number of conference calls overseas in the late evening from his home in Messenger Terrace, he would have to explain that the background screaming was penguins under the house. The other callers never believed him!
The noise of penguins at night has caused some confusion by many people into thinking that a member of the family was very unwell or a very bad snorer. This caused both tension and concern at the breakfast table until it was discovered to have been penguins under the batch that were making the strange breathing noises.
Dogs are mentioned in a large number of the recording forms. One person felt horrible that his dog killed a penguin something he regretfully shares and obviously remains fresh in his mind many decades after it happened.
The stories of close experiences people have had with penguins prove what wonderful characters they are.
They are cute, brave, stroppy, noisy and a bit smelly. They also have a huge number of supporters.
All the data received has been added to the
Nga Motu Marine Reserve Society's database on the New Plymouth Kete so researchers and wildlife biologists can use it in their work in conserving penguin populations.
A big thank you to everyone who took part in this project.