Prince the Northern Giant Petrel - Rescue & Release
When we received a call late July about a “big black bird” sitting on a local beach, seemingly with an injured wing, we were curious and concerned. After liaising with DOC we headed down and to our astonishment saw a juvenile northern giant petrel quieting sitting on a rock by a stream – of course on the OTHER side of the stream!
It was subdued and didn’t try to move away as we quietly waded the creek and uplifted the bird for transfer to our native wildlife vet. At just 2.6kg it was severely underweight with a nasty wound on its left side suspected to be caused by getting caught in a long line.
Despite its poorly state it was a bird of regal proportions so was named Prince for the duration of its rehab. On 05 September it was released at Pepin Island with the very helpful support of the Farm Manager who transferred Prince to the highest point to catch the best gusts for take off. By then Prince was a healthy 5kg with a wingspan of approx. 1 metre – each side! A lot more bird than a little penguin!
We are hugely grateful to the locals who made the initial call and stayed with Prince to ensure he wasn’t disturbed until our arrival, wildlife rehab vet Dr Mana Stratton and rehab teamie Frances, DOC rangers, King Salmon and Sealord for fish supplies and the Pepin Island farm manager.
Northern giant petrels are pelagic and circumpolar, generally found between 30-64°S. In summer they range from subantarctic to Antarctic open oceans; in winter to early spring they range throughout subtropical seas to 28°S. Adults stay relatively close to colonies during chick-rearing. In New Zealand they breed at the Auckland, Campbell, Antipodes and Chatham Islands; they formerly bred in small numbers at Port Pegasus, Stewart Island. Within the Chatham Islands they breed only on The Sisters and Forty Fours islands. Elsewhere, northern giant petrels breed on South Georgia, Prince Edward Islands, Crozet and Kerguelen Islands, and Macquarie Island.
Department of Conservation classifies it as At Risk/Recovering.
If you see a native bird in trouble please call the DOC hotline 0800 362 468 or the Tasman Bay Blue Penguin Trust 021 797 267
