Dunedin Ecology
NZDH Dunedin Ecology chapter
When world-renowned ecologist Sir David Bellamy visited Dunedin in the year 2000
he was impressed by what he saw. “In my opinion the Otago Peninsula is the finest
example of ecotourism in the world,” he said.
It’s a claim that few would challenge, as there are not too many cities around the
globe that boast such a diverse range of wildlife all within easy reach of the city.
Dunedin’s Otago Peninsula offers it all: from frolicking seal pups and lazy sea
lions, to thriving populations of rare yellow eyed penguin and the only accessible
mainland colony of Northern Royal Albatross in the world.
And it’s this unique phenomenon, seen at the Royal Albatross Centre located on Taiaroa
Head on the tip of the peninsula, which remains the highlight for most visitors
to the city. The centre controls visitor numbers and operates under strict Dept.
of Conservation ruling. For a small entry fee, eco-guides lead groups up to the
observatory where there’s a good view of these giant birds either sitting upon their
eggs or soaring in the sky above like gigantic hang gliders.
There are 24 species of albatross and the Northern Royal Albatross is the largest
of them all with a wing span of up to three metres. These allow them to use the
wind current to its best advantage and spend up to a year at a time at sea, sleeping
and feeding on the water. Around eighty percent of a Northern Royal Albatross’s
life is spent at sea and they can glide for days at a time, averaging an incredible
500 km per day as they circumnavigate the southern oceans.
The birds usually choose to nest on inaccessible offshore islands, but in 1914 the
first Northern Royal Albatross began to land at Taiaroa Head. In 1920 an egg was
discovered and since then the colony has slowly grown and now boasts around 100
resident birds.
At Taiaroa Head the parent birds, who share incubation duty, sometimes wait for
up to five days for their mate to return and relieve them. After 11 weeks the albatross
chick hatches and its parents will continue to care for it for another nine months,
before they leave to spend a year at sea. The juvenile, who has never flown or fed
itself before, waits on the high cliffs of Taiaroa for a strong wind then launches
itself into the air, and - like its parents – doesn’t return until the following
year.
In the meantime locals anxiously await their return and when the first albatross
arrives back at the colony, church bells peal for one hour to let the city know
that the birds have arrived home safely.
On the rocks below the heads, NZ fur seals and sea lions laze in the sun. They can
be viewed aboard a scenic boat ride with Monarch Wildlife Cruises or on kayak tours.
Seal pups are best seen at Nature’s Wonders where visitors can board an all-terrain
Argo for a ride across a private farm to watch baby seals frolic in naturally formed
rock pools.
Other local marine life can be viewed at the Marine Studies Centre and Aquarium
in Portobello, the Marine Science Department of Otago University, where extensive
studies are underway on NZ seaweed. The aquarium features many species of fish and
a series of ‘touchpools’ – rock pools teeming with colourful sea creatures for kids
to explore. Here you can also feed hungry pigfish, shake hands with an octopus or
peek inside a shark’s egg.
The Otago Peninsula’s colonies of Yellow Eyed Penguins can be viewed from a number
of hides provided by DOC along the coastline and the best time to spot a penguin
waddling to shore is just after sunrise and an hour before sunset.
At Howard McGrouther’s Penguin Place, where humans are caged and wildlife roams
free, these rare penguins can be seen - especially during the breeding season -
at most times of the day! This Yellow-Eyed Penguin Conservation Reserve is a private
effort to save one of the world’s most endangered penguins from extinction.
When the penguins began to settle on the McGrouther’s farm, Howard dug an intricate
network of burrows by hand so he wouldn’t disturb the wildlife or scar the landscape.
The burrows travel through the dunes for 400 metres to hides where visitors can
peer through narrow gaps and see the penguins squatting over huge pearly-white eggs.
The yellow-eyed penguins lay their eggs in the second half of September and, like
the Royal Northern Albatross, both parents share the incubation period. The chicks
hatch in November and then in mid-February they leave for the sea where they spend
six weeks to six months at large before returning to the colony.
Penguin Place has a penguin hospital on site and a scientist is employed to help
monitor their progress. Whilst most penguins prefer to live under the cover of bush
– and many at Penguin Place do – some choose to nest out in the open. Protection
is important for young chicks so in the interests of safety, Howard places an Aframe
hut over the top of their nests. “They pick their nesting spot, I just provide them
with a bit of shelter,” he says.
A couple of sheep roam between the nests to keep the grass short. This in turn keeps
the mouse population down and their predators, the stoats and ferrets away. “Ecology
is like a giant jigsaw puzzle,” says Howard, “Each piece is required to make up
the whole picture.”
Visitors can self-drive to the Otago Peninsula to explore its many attractions or
alternatively arrange a tour through the Dunedin Visitor Centre.