Little blue penguins can't fly.
This stark reminder comes from Western Bay Wildlife member Paul Cuming as he reflects on how the penguins were surfacing through the oil to come ashore, following the Rena grounding on Astrolabe in 2011.
Paul and ‘the penguin lady' Julia Graham led teams of volunteers going out night after night around Mauao, Moturiki and Motuotau - Rabbit Island - to rescue wildlife.
The fourth of five crowdfunding campaign 'teaser' videos - 'The Wildlife'.
Little blue penguins feed offshore during the day, swimming back to land and returning to their burrows at dusk.
The penguins Paul is referring to however, in the fourth of five teaser videos developed for a crowdfunding campaign, were returning covered in oil. Tracking it back to their nests and unable to clean it off themselves.
The previous three teaser videos cover 'The Wreck', 'The Government response' and 'The Community Response'.
Many birds were rescued, and many died. More than a thousand dead birds were recovered in the first two weeks after the grounding. Nearly all the live oiled birds found were little blue penguins, while many of the dead birds were found to be diving petrels. Other victims included two species that only breed in NZ - fluttering shearwater and Buller's shearwater.
Western Bay Wildlife member Paul Cuming. Photo: The Rena documentary.
The story of the immense community response to this wildlife crisis is being told in a new documentary ‘The Rena, the reef and the residents'. And the producers are asking the Bay of Plenty community to help raise funds to complete it.
'Right now in this Covid-stressed world, I believe we are needing to be reminded again what incredible achievements we make when we all come together,” says producer Rosalie Liddle Crawford.
'To see everyone pitch in to help with that oil spill and wildlife was truly inspiring and we know we must tell this story for future generations.
'Right now in this Covid world people really need something positive to think on.”
'We're so rapt that so many people have helped us already. And we've heard from many others who were involved during the community response. We want to follow up with each of them, and invite everyone to be a part of this, whether they give $5 or as much as Holland Beckett Law who are match funding every donation up to $2000. This is a story for everyone to share in, how a community can rise up and do something extraordinary.”
One of the wildlife organisations - Western Bay Wildlife Trust - grew out of the community response to the Rena disaster and continues on today, protecting, restoring and enhancing native populations and ecosystems around the Western Bay of Plenty.
'Please help us raise $25,000 to tell this important story in New Zealand's history. Thank you,” says Rosalie.
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