Yellow-eyed penguin (Megadyptes anpodes) Picture of bird Full life history info: hp://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/yellow-eyed-penguin

Introducon Ecology and life history The yellow-eyed penguin (YEP) is endemic to New Normal adult weight range: Zealand and is the largest species of penguin that 5-6kg but get to 7-8kg pre-moult breeds on the mainland. Breeding colonies are found Moult: Synchronous moult i.e. moults all feathers at the on the southwest coast of the South Island as well as same me. In April for a 3-4 week duraon. the subantarcc on Auckland and Campbell Islands. During this period YEPs stay on land and do not go The mainland and subantarcc populaons are swimming to forage for food. genecally disnct. Breeding: August to April. There are approximately 1700 breeding pairs and Monogamous. the species is considered naonally vulnerable. Egg laying between September to October. Chicks are suscepble to predaon by introduced Two eggs laid over 2-3 days predators such dogs, cats, ferrets and stoats. Incubaon 39-51 days. There is a great deal of inter-annual variaon in Age at fledging 98-120 days. breeding success which is thought to be due to Age at first breeding 2.6 years. variaons in food supply. Lifespan: 20+ years Disease in an important threat to the mainland Diet: Fish and squid populaon. Outbreaks of diphtheric stomas or Conservaon status (NZ Threat Classificaon): bill deformies in growing chicks occur intermiently Naonally vulnerable but no specific causave agents have been idenfied.

Personal protecve equipment (PPE): Appropriate PPE must be worn when capturing and handling oiled wildlife to prevent exposure to oil (disposable nitrile gloves, safety glasses/goggles, protecon for clothing e.g. Tyvec suit). Old towels or blue inconnence pads are useful to handle oiled birds as they can be discarded once soiled. Capture Handling Consider the safety of both humans and Wear normal examinaon gloves if not oiled to birds. prevent feather damage. Wrap the body in a YEPs can be caught in a net or by hand towel to restrain their strong flippers and with or without a towel. Long-handled prevent feather damage. Cover the head with fishing nets are useful for capture if the the towel to reduce stress. bird is in the water. If the bird is on land Penguin bills are sharp and easily cut through then ensure that someone is standing skin. Restrain the head by holding the back of between the bird and the water to the head in the palm of one hand and gripping prevent them from entering it. the boom of the jaws with thumb and fingers.

Transport to WARNING – NEVER place your eyes close to holes in transport boxes. facility Herons, gannets & cormorants will lunge at eyes causing serious injury or blindness.

Transport box: Made of plasc (NOT wood) as oil contaminaon can be cleaned and the box reused. Best opon is an PetPak carrier: XXL Model No. PP60, 74(H) x 62(W) x 95(L)cm. YEP must be able to stand up or lie flat inside cage (average YEP height approx 65cm) Only ONE bird per box.

Flooring: Correct flooring in the transport box is important. It should (i) be so and non-abrasive in order to prevent development of bumblefoot during transport, (ii) be non-slip so that the bird can steady itself and (iii) prevent build up of faecal maer that can cause urate burns. Blue-tube rubber mang covered with blue inconnence pads or a suspended neng floor are the best opons. Folded newspaper is inappropriate as it becomes too slippery when contaminated by faeces. Shredded paper, straw, hay and seagrass should be avoided as it increases the risk of Aspergillosis

Vehicle transport: van or ute, with canopy and a separate air space from people to prevent inhalaon of oil fumes. Ideally temperature controlled (heang on cold days, cooling on hot days). Yellow-eyed penguin HUSBANDRY REQUIREMENTS Housing Keep indoors and temperature controlled at 25-27°C because oiled animals cannot thermoregulate.

pre-cleaning Enclosure (oiled) • Keep in temperature controlled rooms. YEPs are too large to be kept in standard hospital cages. • If room is very large then build temporary enclosures. Ensure walls of temporary enclosure are made of materials that can easily be cleaned of oil such as plasc or metal, not wood. Examples of suitable walls include temporary metal fencing lined with shade cloth (to prevent feather damage) or plasc traffic barriers without holes. Ensure metal fencing is not galvanised with zinc or lead as this could lead to heavy metal poisoning if the birds chew on the fence. • Mulple birds can be housed together. Do not overcrowd. • Reduce visibility of humans and noise to minimise stress.

Flooring Avoid oil coming into contact with a concrete floor as it is very difficult to clean. Line floor with heavy duty plasc sheets (e.g. pond liner or large garbage bags) then place blue tube mang on top (available at hardware stores). Correct flooring is very important to prevent uric acid and faecal buildup which can cause feather damage and bumblefoot.

Covering Cover over the enclosure is not required.

Housing Enclosure post-cleaning Outdoor aviary with shade cloth covering the roof and walls. Can house mulple birds together but do not overcrowd. (NOT oiled) Flooring: Blue tube mang on floor to prevent uric acid and faecal buildup and bumblefoot. NOTE: grey tube flooring is harder than the blue version which increases risk of bumblefoot.

Burrows Large hides made of plasc - upturned plasc box with arch cut out. Protect the sharp edge of doorway with a hose-pipe split lengthways and taped in place. Provide one hide per bird.

Pool Penguins in the rehabilitaon phase need access to water in their enclosure to aid waterproofing. • Suitable pool types: built-in, large plasc containers or plasc (non-inflatable) child’s pool. • Non-slip ramps to allow easy access and exit of water. • Preferably use seawater, but freshwater can be used. If using freshwater then provide birds with a salt supplement in order to maintain salt glands (see “Supplements” secon). • No need to heat the pool water. YEPs are large, robust and come from a cold water climate. • Connuous flow of water is required to prevent buildup of fish oil and faeces on the surface of the water which inhibits the waterproofing process. This is most easily achieved by placing a hose above the pool allowing the running water to break the surface of the pool water and leng it overflow. Good drainage around the pool is required. • Surface skimmer is useful for removing oil, food and faeces floang on the surface.

Transport As per handling instrucons. within facility If oiled, then encase in disposable material such as blue inconnence pads. If clean, then encase in large towel. Must wear gloves to prevent feather damage. Cover head to reduce visual smuli and stress.

Idenficaon Leg band or flipper band (temporary idenficaon to be removed before release) Yellow-eyed penguin NUTRITION, SUPPLEMENTS and FLUIDS At admission Triage assessment: physical examinaon by trained personnel (preferably a veterinarian) Record cloacal temperature. Give fluids at inial stabilisaon rates below. Dosing If large numbers of birds require dosing then calculate dose based on the weight of the heaviest bird. Group animals into similar age and/or size class for dosing calculaons. Fluid rate Inial stabilisaon: 80-100ml/kg body weight/day divided into two doses PO Once hydrated: 60ml/kg body weight/day divided into two doses PO Fluid type For long term maintenance use either isotonic saline (0.9%) or Vytrate®/Lectade® Amount Feed 10% of body weight (BW) TWICE a day. (i.e. 20% of body weight total each day) Food type If weak, emaciated and dehydrated: Give oral electrolyte fluids at ‘inial stabilisaon’ rate listed above for 24 hours to rehydrate gut. Use either: Equal parts (50:50) Hartmann’s soluon and 2.5% dextrose in 0.45% saline 5% dextrose in 0.9% saline or Vytrate®/Lectade®

Once gut is hydrated, then start with small amounts of fish slurry. If able to take solids: human grade small to medium whole salmon. Food Fish slurry: Place human grade salmon in heavy duty blender and blend. Add just enough isotonic preparaon (0.9% NaCl) fluid to blender to achieve a smooth consistency. Sieve slurry using a metal sieve to remove any chunks that may clog the feeding tube. Discard aer 24 in the refrigerator.

Whole fish: : Ideally defrost covered in refrigerator to retain nutrional quality. However, if large amounts of food are required then fish can be defrosted under cold running water immediately before feeding so long as vitamin supplements are given. Supplements ① Mazuri seabird vitamins: 1 tablet per 225g fish. (Available at Carlyle Vet Clinic, Napier 06 835 1096). ② Itraconazole (Sporonox): 5mg/kg BW PO once daily via so crop tube to prevent Aspergillosis. ③ Salt (sodium chloride) to recondion salt gland: Only required if birds have been housed long- term in freshwater. Start at least 2 week before release. Give orally either as 3% saline soluon at maintenance fluid rates or 100mg/kg BW PO once daily. Gradually increase dose over four days: Day 1 give ¼ dose, Day 2 give ½ dose, Day give ¾ dose, Day 4 give full dose, then connue at full dose. Delivery & Warm fluids and slurry to 38-40°C. device Large volumes of fluid and fish slurry are easier to deliver with a large, plasc, lamb stomach tube 16” in length (pictured) and 60ml catheter-p syringe. Force feed (FF) whole fish head first. Some birds will learn to take fish by hand, others will need the head restrained and bill opened to place fish into the back of the mouth. Once the fish is far enough to the back of the throat the bird should swallow it down – release the head at this stage to allow the animal to swallow. Avoid geng fish juices on the skin and feathers at the corner of the mouth as this disrupts waterproofing and causes dermas. If fish juice/oil gets onto skin or feathers DO NOT ATTEMPT TO WIPE OFF. Rinse area with a large syringe of water and allow bird to preen. HEALTH SCREENING Venepuncture sites: Interdigital, brachial, and medial metatarsal veins

Anaemia Kidney funcon Birds exposed to oil can quickly become anaemic Uric acid (UA) levels in birds are a measure of kidney (decreased red blood cells) due to the toxic affects of oil funcon. Elevated UA levels >600 IU/dl indicate that the and starvaon. As a minimum, packed cell volume (PCV) kidneys are failing or the animal is severely dehydrated, and serum total protein (TP) should be measured at both of which commonly occur in oiled birds. (1) intake (2) pre-wash (3) post-wash (4) pre-release. Treatment: IV or PO isotonic fluids at twice maintenance Severely anaemic (PCV<15-20%) birds require blood rates (100ml/kg/24 hours) transfusion. Birds should not be released unl their UA levels return Birds should not be: to within the normal range (<600 IU/dl). If UA levels • washed unl PCV ≥30% and TP ≥25g/L remain elevated despite treatment then the bird likely • released unl their PCV and TP levels return to within has irreversible kidney failure and should be euthanised the normal range for YEPs = PCV 30-55%, TP 40-60 g/L. on humane grounds. Yellow-eyed penguin Common Medicaons Washing Birds must be stable and strong enough to withstand An-fungals: Preventave treatment of Aspergillosis the stress of washing. This may mean that a bird will (a severe respiratory fungal infecon) is highly remain oiled for several days unl it has been stabilised. recommended as these birds are extremely suscepble to this life-threatening disease when in capvity. Requirements for washing are very specific, such as Itraconazole available only by veterinary prescripon. water temperature, water soness and brand of See dose rate on page 1. detergent. Refer to the “Washing” factsheet for detailed informaon. Anbiocs: are only required if the animal has an open or infected wound or known bacterial infecon and Waterproofing should only be given if prescribed by a veterinarian aer To regain waterproofing, birds must be given access to examinaon of the animal. a pool with haulouts so that they can preen and dry off Dose rates: Amoxicillin/clavulanic acid 125mg/kg PO BID between swims. Degree of waterproofing should be Enrofloxacin 5-10mg/kg PO BID assessed using the Waterproofing Assessment sheets (hyperlink). Pain relief: is only required if the animal has a painful condion (e.g. open wound) and should only be given if prescribed by a veterinarian aer examinaon of the Release criteria animal. Dose rates: Birds should only be released if they fulfill ALL the Meloxicam (for mild to moderate so ssue pain) following criteria: i0.5-1 mg/kg BID 1. Fully waterproof aer 6 hours swim test (refer to Butorphanol (for moderate to severe bone pain) “Waterproofing” guidelines). 5mg/kg IM ideally every 2-3hours but can be given 2. Weight within normal range (on page 1) twice a day AND Body Condion Score at least 3/5 using pectoral muscle scoring system: Acvated charcoal: not recommended

Problems associated with capvity ALL secondary complicaons require veterinary aenon. Isolate any sick birds from the group.

1. Aspergillosis A serious, life-threatening respiratory fungal infecon. Clinical signs include noisy or difficulty breathing. Treatment involves daily nebulisaon with a specific anfungal agent only available through a veterinarian.

2. Pressure sores: keel lesions, hock lesions or 3. PCV is 35-55% and TP is 30-55 g/L 4. UA <600 IU/dl pododermas (bumblefoot) 5. Secondary complicaons resolved and checked by Best prevented with good husbandry and appropriate veterinarian floor coverings. Depending on severity the bird may require surgery. Treatment involves specific wound care Other things to consider: and bandaging. • Is their release habitat free from oil? 3. Traumac injuries • YEPs can be released on land near the shoreline. Traumac injuries such as bone fractures can occur in capvity due to excessive force used during handling or Authors: S. Finlayson, B. White, L. Chilvers, G. Finlayson. Thanks to veterinary technicians and veterinary residents in the Wildbase issues in the enclosure (eg. gaps where legs or flippers Hospital and to others for their input, feedback and photos. can get stuck). Disclaimer: This fact sheet is managed by Wildbase Oil Response (WOR) for informaon purposes only. Informaon contained in it is drawn from a 4. Feather damage variety of sources external to WOR. Although reasonable care was taken in its preparaon, WOR does not guarantee or warrant the accuracy, reliability, Usually occurs from inappropriate handling or enclosure. completeness, or currency of the informaon or its usefulness in achieving Birds cannot be released if feather damage effects any purpose. To the fullest extent permied by law, WOR will not be liable for any loss, damage, cost or expense incurred in or arising by reason of any waterproofing. If it is the wrong me of year for a person relying on informaon in this fact sheet. Persons should accordingly natural moult, please seek advice from Wildbase on how make and rely on their own assessments and enquiries to verify the accuracy to induce moult. of the informaon provided. Pictures: Unless otherwise credited, all pictures are copyright of Wildbase.