Wicked Campers Still Don't Get It

NZ's Department of Conservation (DOC) has joined a targeted assault against controversial campervan hire company Wicked Campers.
Wicked (which started in Oz and operates in NZ) is under fire from Associate Tourism Minister Paula Bennett for highly offensive slogans and imagery painted on its vehicles.
DOC has removed Wicked Campers from a list of rental companies, where tourists can buy a DOC campsite pass. A spokesman for Conservation Minister Maggie Barry says: "The ministers find these slogans sleazy, misogynistic and offensive."

Wicked Campers has a long history of hitting the headlines on both sides of the Tasman for all the wrong reasons:
March 2016 - Popular Nelson campsite Kaiteriteri Recreation Reserve banned Wicked Campers from their site, saying the vehicles' messages were inappropriate for the families staying there.
Feb.2016 - Whangarei District Council threatened to prosecute Wicked Campers if its campervans with offensive or objectionable material on them were found in the district.
Jan.2016 - NZ's Advertising Standards Authority upheld a complaint about a van slogan saying "The best thing about oral sex is the five minutes of silence." The board said the quote was deliberately provocative and offensive, was likely to cause serious and widespread offence to most people, and "had not been prepared with...social responsibility to consumers and society".
2015 - travel guide Lonely Planet said it would remove Wicked Campers from its NZ/Oz guidebooks because of its vans' offensive slogans.
2014 - Wicked Campers agreed to review a van featuring a witch passing a meth pipe to Snow White, after a police complaint.
NZ Police has joined the public campaign against Wicked Camper vans, but acknowledge it's a complex issue from a law enforcement perspective: "A message may be widely regarded as offensive and inappropriate, but this does not necessarily make it a criminal matter." The chief censor's office says for a publication to be banned, it has to have done "injury to the public good", instead of just being offensive.

Convictions for knowingly possessing objectionable material can result in a fine up to $50,000 or a 10 year prison sentence.
Meanwhile Associate Tourism Minister Paula Bennett wants the public to send her photos of all four sides of Wicked's vans: paula.bennett@parliament.govt.nz.
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Penguins Staring Down The Gun

Otago's yellow-eyed penguin population has reached rock bottom, after a year of sweltering temperatures, disease, and barracuda

attacks.
Fewer than 190 breeding pairs were counted on the Otago coast this season...down from 500 in 2012!
Many chicks were hit by avian diphtheria, an infection that forms ulcers in chicks' mouths, making it difficult to eat and breathe. Some chicks had died due to overheating, as they remained under the protection of their parent's body.
Coastal Otago Biodiversity Ranger Mel Young: "There's no obvious pattern to the infection outbreak, but most infected chicks have also been underweight. The heat has played a large part too."
Ailing penguins have been fed salmon smoothies every few days, and had the lesions in their mouths removed, allowing them to eat and breathe easier. Despite this, about 45% of chicks at monitored sites had died.
Tourists visiting those sites have also caused problems. The Department of Conservation (DoC) urges them to take established tours, rather than explore on their own, so as not to disturb breeding.
It's a sentiment echoed by the Yellow-Eyed Penguin Trust GM Sue Murray: "The penguins have had a tough four breeding seasons, so we're trying to minimise every possible risk, to give them their best chance of survival."
+++++
Penguins face many dangers - disease, interference from humans and livestock at breeding areas, heat stress, predation by stoats and ferrets, and dog attacks.
In 2013, a mass mortality event believed to be a toxic bloom, killed around 70 adults and juveniles on the Otago Peninsula. Also that year, low food supplies left penguins emaciated and unable to moult without help.
Early in 2015, 50+ penguins were maimed in barracuda attacks.

Stilted Success

The Department of Conservation (DOC) recently released nearly 100 young black stilts into the wild at sites in Canterbury's Mackenzie basin, after a record chick-rearing season.
About half were released at the Cass River near Lake Tekapo and the remainder on the Tasman River delta.

This follows the early release of 43 in January, due to avairies being at capacity.
The birds were successfully raised at DOC's aviary in Twizel and The Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust facilities in Christchurch.
Boosting the small wild population of this critically endangered species with birds from the captive breeding programme is essential for its survival. DOC Conservation Services Manager Dean Nelson: "The number we raise has been increasing each year, resulting in a steady increase of adult birds in the wild. Our challenge this coming season is to maintain this momentum, with our capacity to raise birds affected by the damage of two out of three of our aviaries in Twizel this winter." (Last June's heavy snow collapsed one wooden-arch aviary and damaged another.)
The wild black stilt population has increased from a desperately-low 23 birds in the early 1980s to an estimated 77 adult birds last summer.
The threat from predators such as stoats and feral cats over large areas of braided river habitat where black stilts live is a major difficulty in conserving this species.

Background:
Black stilts are only found in NZ, on the braided rivers and wetlands of the upper Waitaki and Mackenzie basins. They have been brought back from the brink of extinction by intensive conservation work over the past 30yrs. Black stilts are known to mate for life. The birds' survival is threatened by introduced predators, weeds and disturbance by people and vehicles.

Migaloo or Moby Dick?

A rare white humpback whale has been spotted in Cook Strait!
The oddity was spotted with a black humpback last Sunday, during Dept.of Conservation's 12th annual Cook Strait whale survey.
The two contrasting humpback whales were spotted by former whaler Ted Perano and left researchers stunned.

Migaloo...?

Features on the whale are similar to those on one known as Migaloo. They include the dorsal fin's distinctive shape and also distinctive spiny protuberances behind the dorsal fin.
Migaloo (which is Aboriginal for "white fella"), has been seen off eastern Australia almost every year since 1991. A skin sample, taken from this whale with a biopsy dart, will be compared with Migaloo's DNA to confirm whether it is the same whale.

...or Moby Dick?

White humpbacks are extremely rare and only four have been reported in the world. Migaloo is the most famous and is believed to have fathered two white calves. Another white humpback whale was spotted off Norway in 2012.
The annual whale survey is to assess humpback whale recovery since commercial whaling ended in the Cook Strait 50 years ago. It is timed for humpback whales' northern migration to South Pacific breeding grounds, and estimates the size of the humpback population.
This year's 4wk survey ends this Friday, and has counted 122 humpback whales, far more than the previous-highest tally of 106 humpbacks in 2012.

More Deaths at Farewell Spit

Last Friday, Farewell Spit again took its toll on a passing whale pod, as 198 pilot whales were stranded.
Department of Conservation (DoC) staff, Project Jonah volunteers and at least 300 tourists and locals descended on the beach in a bid to refloat the animals. However, more than half restranded, many of them dying on the beach that night.
Rescue teams arrived from Northland, Auckland and Wellington, and were shocked by the condition of the 69 surviving whales at first light on Saturday. In some other strandings, volunteers have been able to keep the whales cool and wet overnight. However, due to safety concerns stemming from the terrain at Farewell Spit, DoC would not allow people to stay overnight. So by morning the animals were stressed, overheated and suffering wind burn.
With the surrounding wetland reserve making it impossible to use heavy machinery, rescuers had to rely on 'people power' to move the whales.

The four largest survivors, up to 6m long and weighing up to 4 tonnes, were dragged on rescue mats back into the tide. The refloated whales were rocked from side to side before release, a trick that helped them regain their equilibrium and reduced their chances of restranding.
In the end, 67 of the 69 whales still alive at dawn on Saturday made it back out to sea.

Mass Stranding At Whakatane

This morning dawned on more than 20 dead pilot whales in the Bay of Plenty.
Yesterday, two pods of pilot whales were seen in Ohiwa Harbour near Whakatane. Some of the whales beached themselves on the ocean side of the harbour. A badly injured whale was found up the harbour channel early yesterday afternoon. It's companions were probably concerned for its well-being, causing the mass stranding.

By 7am this morning, about 20 whales were dead, half of those euthanased by Dept.of Conservation (DoC) officers. A helicopter prevented more deaths by shepherding others to safety: the noise turned the whales around, and they went back out the harbour mouth.
Experienced volunteers from around the country have arrived to help save the remaining whales. Ohiwa's next high tide is at around 6pm this evening, 1½ hours before sunset.
Mass pilot whale strandings are more common in the Golden Bay area, the Far North, and the Chatham Islands. Most strandings occur in spring and summer.

UPDATE: 06 Nov.2014 - Rescue mission fails - all whales are lost.

Stranding In Titahi Bay

A whale from one of the least known marine mammal families was found early yesterday morning, beached at the southern end of Titahi Bay near Porirua, Wellington.
It appeared to be a 5-7m Cuvier's Beaked Whale, part of a family of beaked whales that dive to at least 300m to hunt squid. This one had scars caused by bites from "cookie-cutter" sharks, but these marks were common and unlikely to have caused fatal injuries.

Beaked whales are unusual in that they have very reduced teeth, whereas their close relatives such as sperm whales and dolphins generally have multiple teeth. Beaked whales can suck in their food without need of teeth - rather like we can suck in spaghetti.
Cuvier's beaked whales are wellknown from strandings around NZ and are found in most of the world's oceans. But the chances of actually seeing any of the 11 beaked whale species known to inhabit our waters is slight - in some cases, they're only known to exist due to their bodies washing up.
It's unclear if this particular whale had stranded or had died and was then washed up on the beach: an autopsy will hopefully confirm the cause of death.
This is not the first whale to die on Titahi Bay. In the 1950s, a large sperm whale washed up in the area.

Blue Whale Ain't Goin' Nowhere...

"Whale meat again...don't know where...don't know when..."

One hundred tonnes of whale is not something that can easily be disposed of - ha, not even for the Japanese!!!
A dead blue whale washed on to the rocky foreshore just south of New Plymouth last week...and that's where it'll stay.
The 19.5m whale washed up on Tapuae Beach, and is believed to be a blue whale or a pygmy blue.
Taranaki Department of Conservation acting senior biodiversity ranger Callum Lilley said it's been an interesting opportunity to get a closer look at the largest species on earth. Experts from Massey University have performed a necropsy "...however, once inside we realised it was really decomposed." There was nothing they could ascertain about the cause of the whale's death, except that there were no obvious signs of trauma.
Callum says because of the massive size of the whale it would most likely be left on the rocks at the beach. Its resting spot is far away from any easily-accessible parts of the beach.
Blue whales are known to feed on krill off the South Taranaki Bight. They have been spotted there over the last few years, much to the delight of scientists.

Thar She Blows

The 11th annual Cook Strait Whale Survey begins this Saturday (14 June), aiming to determine how humpback whales are recovering since commercial whaling ended in 1964.

Former whalers will again be part of the Department of Conservation (DoC) research team, spotting humpbacks migrating through the strait on their annual journey from Antarctic waters to South Pacific breeding grounds.
The Cook Strait Whale Survey has run each winter since 2004. Last year's bad weather made it difficult to see whales out at sea, but nonetheless 59 humpbacks were counted. Researchers are hoping for better weather in this year's 4wk.survey (ending 12 July).
Wellington marine ecologist Nadine Bott says whale recovery is assessed by comparing survey numbers to whalers' records of humpbacks in Cook Strait from the 1950s/early 1960s: "The findings indicate the NZ humpback population is increasing but only slowly."

While some of the team spot for whales on land, others approach the whales by boat to gather information for identifying individual whales. Photos and skin samples (using a biopsy dart tool) are taken. These are checked against photographs and genetic samples from whales across the South Pacific to see if any match. The information to date shows some humpback whales migrating through NZ waters are also seen off the east coast of Australia and around New Caledonia.
Researchers also gather data and identification information on other whale species seen, which in the past has included blue, southern right, minke and sperm whales.
The public can help, by reporting sightings of whales in the Cook Strait area or along the northern Kaikoura coast, to DOC on 03/520-3002. Information is sought on the date, time and place of whale sightings, number of whales, and the direction the whale or whales were travelling.

Orca Stranding A Mystery

Scientists are still puzzled by the stranding of a pod of orca this week on the Southland coast.
They had hoped to take samples that would help solve the mystery behind the beaching and death of the pod of nine (including one calf) at Te Waewae Bay near Tuatapere last Tuesday night. But by the time researchers reached the carcasses on Thursday, one had been washed away, another partly eaten by sharks and the remaining seven were badly decomposed.

Stranded orca - 3News

Sample tests would not be able to determine the cause of death, however it is hoped blood tests could determine whether the orcas died from an infection, disease, or whether pollution or heavy metals had a role in the deaths.
Orca Research Trust founder Ingrid Visser said the animals - when alive - had been in very good condition. Initial observation of their teeth resembled a pod in the northern Pacific region that fed predominantly on sharks. Visser thinks its possible the pod was hunting sharks in shallow water.
The stranding is only the third such mass stranding of the species recorded here: in 1955, 17 animals stranded at Paraparaumu near Wellington, and 12 stranded in the 1980s in the Chatham Islands. No reason was determined for those strandings.
The nine dead represent 5% of New Zealand's orca population suddenly gone - a major loss.

Farewell Spit: Third Big Stranding

It's becoming the annual summer norm: a sequence of pilot whale strandings at Farewell Spit.
After two big strandings on the 6th and the 14th of January, Department of Conservation and volunteers are again battling the elements, for the sake of more than 70 whales beached yesterday at Golden Bay.
Many could not be saved: 8 later had to be euthanised and two more died at sea during the refloat. 49 whales re-stranded but one died overnight.
Another whale was put down this morning, but experts are more hopeful of a successful re-float on this afternoon's high tide, for the 47 remaining.
DOC says the whales moved overnight about a kilometre down the beach. Their new location at Puponga Beach near the base of Farewell Spit is encouraging because the whales will be in the water faster, and it is also easier for people to access if they want to help.
The rest of the tropical cyclone weather system is due to hit the area tomorrow so it's crucial the situation is sorted today.
Update: 22 Jan.2014 -The 45 refloated whales were spotted yesterday afternoon swimming out into deeper water. Hopes are high that they will not restrand.

Outta Sight, Outta Danger?

Last night, the Department of Conservation (DOC) was buoyed by the fact it had lost sight of around 50 pilot whales believed to be at risk of stranding.
DOC hopes the whales are now in deeper water and not in immediate risk of beaching.
Meanwhile, there were still 13 whales stranded about 7km from the base of Farewell Spit (top of the South Island). A decision on whether to attempt to refloat the whales on last night's incoming tide was hampered by a strong westerly wind, which made conditions difficult and the sea rough.
Earlier yesterday, DOC rangers were in a boat following the whales, but lost sight of them in choppy seas. The pod had been watched by DOC staff since they were alerted of their presence around 8am yesterday - the first whales stranded around 11am.
This site is the same treacherous area where a pod was found beached and in distress last week. At that time a dozen pilot whales were found dead and the remaining 27 in the pod needed to be euthanised.
Last week's stranding was the first big one of the summer.
[...thanx to TV3 News]

Update: Eight whales survived the night - refloat attempt this morning.
Thursday Update: Surviving whales can't be refloated and will be euthanised.

NZ's First Major Stranding of 2014

Thirty-nine pilot whales have died, in the first major NZ stranding of the summer in Golden Bay.
Stuff.co.nz reports a dozen of the pod were found dead Monday morning after they washed up on the high-tide mark at Farewell Spit.
The Department of Conservation (DOC) made the difficult decision to euthanase the remaining 27, when it became clear an attempt to refloat them was unlikely to succeed. The location of the whales high up on the beach, low tides and strong winds would have hampered any refloat attempt.
Golden Bay conservation services manager John Mason: "We carefully weighed up the likelihood of being able to refloat them and get them safely back out to sea, but our staff, who have extensive experience in dealing with mass whale strandings in Golden Bay, determined that due to various factors it was unlikely they could be rescued."
Whale conservation charity Project Jonah reported the stranding on its Facebook page with the reminder that NZ is in peak stranding season and for 'whale medics' to have their strand bags ready to go.
NZ's stranding season is from November to March, and they're an almost annual occurrence at Farewell Spit.
Nov.2012: 28 whales died after stranding in the area.
Jan.2012: 99 whales stranded themselves at the spit - despite refloating efforts, 40 had to be euthanased.

Back From The Dead?

A native New Zealand bird, declared extinct in 2007...may still be alive!
An apparent sighting of a South Island Kokako has been accepted by the NZ Ornithological Society's records appraisal committee, which monitors the status of rare and endangered birds.

Artist's impression of North (blue)
and South (orange) Island kokako

The sighting was made near Reefton, in the same year the bird was declared extinct. A total of 11 sightings of the Sth Island Kokako between 1990 and 2008 were submitted, but the committee considered the others to be "probable" or "possible" sightings.
An expert panel, convened to manage the Department of Conservation-run NZ Threat Classification System earlier this month, changed the Sth Island Kokako's classification from "extinct" to "data deficient" based on the 11 claimed sightings.
"We can't say that the Sth Island Kokako IS still alive. But this is the best sign yet that it is," Forest+Bird advocacy manager Kevin Hackwell says. "Because of the re-classification, there needs to be more pest control work in the Sth Island than ever before. If the birds are still out there, they'll be only just hanging on, and their biggest threats will be rats, stoats and possums."
Before the Reefton sighting, the last accepted sighting of a Sth Island

North Island kokako:
photo Matt Binns

Kokako was in 1967.
The Sth Island Kokako is a dark bluish-grey wattlebird (about the size of a crow) with a long tail, short wings and orange wattles on its face. The endangered Nth Island Kokako has blue wattles. The bird is not particularly good at flying and prefers to use its powerful legs to leap and run through the forest.

Mystery Maud Mice Cheese Off DOC

They're commonly thought of as prey but, on Maud Island, mice are predators - and they're not welcome.
The tiny rodents have been found on the wildlife sanctuary by the Department of Conservation (DOC). Their presence threatens some species of native insects, frogs and lizards living on the island, which normally holds predator-free status.

Rodent-detection dogs located some mice, but the total number has yet to be determined. It's not known how long they've been there, or how they arrived.
DOC is keen to eradicate the mice, but that won't happen until next year. DOC Sounds Conservation Services Manager Roy Grose: "To be sure of total success, we need to hold off an eradication operation until next winter, when food for mice will be scarce and they're more likely to eat the poison baits. In the meantime, we'll do all we can to limit the impact on endangered species."
DOC is most concerned about the welfare of the Maud Island frog and the Stephen's Island striped gecko - one of NZ's rarest. The lizards may need to be rehoused in an enclosure on the island, while some frogs may be moved to another island to breed a new back-up population.
Maud Island is in the Marlborough Sounds on the northern tip of the South Island. With a total area of 320 ha., it was ideal to clear pests from and establish a rodent-free environment in which to save our most endangered species. The public isn't allowed there without a permit, but DOC says the mice could have been introduced by someone docking a boat or kayak illegally.
Yeup, all it takes is one stupid brain-dead idiot thinking his little boat won't make a difference...

Eyes Open For Bulbuls

The government is seeking public help to rid NZ of an aggressive and unwelcome immigrant...
Conservation Minister Nick Smith wants to rid Auckland of the red-vented bulbul, a bird listed as one of the 100 worst invasive alien species and a threat to our native birds. Native to parts of Asia (Pakistan to SW China), they've been introduced to a number of Pacific Islands where they're now a serious invasive pest. They can cause significant damage to fruit and vegetable crops, and spread the seeds of invasive weeds.
Smith: "The red-vented bulbul with its aggressive nature poses a real risk to native birds like the wood pigeon. These prolific breeders have been found in Auckland twice before and we need to act fast to ensure they don't have time to make themselves at home."
In the 1950s, a small population of about 50 became established between Takapuna and Mt Eden after some were released from a ship. It took until 1955 to completely eradicate them and, since the late 1960s, it's been illegal to import them. In 2006, a small number were eradicated from Parnell.
This time, the birds have been spotted around Manurewa and Alfriston in south Auckland, in the western suburbs of Henderson, Te Atatu and Massey, and the Devonport, Belmont and Takapuna areas of the North Shore. There have also been some possible sightings in Whangaparaoa.
The red-vented bulbul is a medium-sized bird, about 20cm long (that's the size of a starling). It has a black head, dark back, grey-white belly, and a distinctive crimson-red patch beneath its tail. It also has a very distinctive call.
The public is urged to report all sightings to DOC as soon as possible, before spring growth on trees makes the birds harder to spot.

PS: 14 Nov.2013 - Bulbul reward now upped to $1,000!

NZ Does Conservation Week

Conservation Week 2013 launched yesterday...
...and it kicked off with a proposal for a new conservation park on Great Barrier Island, and a pest eradication programme on Rakitu Island in the Hauraki Gulf.
Great Barrier Island is a natural treasure and certainly deserves a higher conservation status than simply 'stewardship land'. The legal effect of a change in designation would result in greater protection for its flora and fauna, and an increased emphasis on recreation. If adopted, the conservation park would be of similar size to the Hunua and Waitakere Ranges Regional Parks, and would be the largest DOC Park in Auckland.
Meanwhile Conservation Minister Dr Nick Smith says $190,000 from the Nature Heritage Fund is being committed to rid Rakitu Island of rats. These are a major problem for native birds on the island like the teal duck, morepork, grey warbler, shining cuckoo, silvereye, little blue penguin, and moko, copper and ornate skinks. It would also make the island safe for native birds like bellbirds and whiteheads. The rat eradication programme on Rakitu Island would take 2-3yrs to plan and complete and would involve an extensive programme of poisoning.
Conservation Week runs 8-15 September.

Psycho Killers

Arseholes of the world – stand up and be counted!
If you have the BALLS...
Two seals have been callously shot in the head at virtually point blank range north of Kaikoura: their bodies were found last Saturday at Ohau Point seal colony. The Department of Conservation (DOC) is seeking the public's help to find who is responsible for killing the female seal and 11-month-old pup.
DOC South Marlborough area manager David Hayes says NZ fur seals are protected by law and it's an offence to kill/harm them. Under the Marine Mammals Protection Act 1978 there are penalties of up to 6mths' imprisonment or a fine of up to $250,000 for killing or harming fur seals or other marine mammals, plus a further fine of up to $10,000 for every marine mammal the offence was committed against.
The shooter/s had better keep a close eye on the rear view mirror: in late 2010, when 25 seals (including pups) were beaten to death at the same location, two wankers were arrested - one was convicted and the trial of the other is this September.
The Ohau Stream waterfall pool, inland from the seal colony, where pups gather and play between May and September, has become a highly popular attraction with around 12,000 visits a month. That anyone can exploit the seals' openness and vulnerability in such a manner is sickening. When arrests are made (and they WILL be), I trust the court hits them with full force.
Obviously the previous arseholes' penalties weren't deterrents enough!

PS: 24 July 2013 - Name-and-shame some other arseholes who attacked seals...

Kakapo World’s Favourite Species

New Zealand's flightless parrot, the kakapo, has been named the World's Favourite Species!
As part of its 10th birthday celebrations ARKive.org – a popular online multimedia guide to the world's endangered species – sought to find the world's top 10 favourite species, with 14,000 voters from 162 countries taking part. In an online poll featuring 50 animals from across the globe, our own kakapo took out top honours ahead of the tiger in 2nd place and African elephant 3rd.
Sirocco the kakapo has been pivotal in bringing attention to the plight of his species, and for gaining global awareness.
Kakapo Recovery programme mngr Deidre Vercoe says the most pleasing aspect of the poll is that voters are most concerned about the need to protect the species from extinction: "It's become increasingly apparent that kakapo are treasured worldwide. It would be wonderful to reach a stage when all kids throughout the world know what a kakapo is, like they do a tiger."
The kakapo's first real introduction to the world stage was through the BBC documentary Last Chance to See - remember those scenes of Sirocco trying to 'mate' with the presenter's head? As a result of that, Sirocco shot to fame. He's now the official 'spokesbird' for conservation, goes on annual display as the ambassador for Kakapo Recovery and has more than 20,000 fans online.
The current kakapo population is 124, up from a low of 51 in 1995. There's been no breeding during the past two summers because of poor rimu crops, but the team predict a small breeding season for early 2014. The flightless birds rely on a good rimu fruiting season to trigger breeding. The long-term recovery goal is to have 150 females at three separate sites, one of which is self-sustaining.

Eyes Open In Cook Strait

The Cook Strait will be a hub of whale-watching activity over the next month, as Department of Conservation (DOC) researchers, former whalers and many other volunteers carry out the 10th. annual whale survey.
A record 106 humpback whales were counted in last year's 4wk.survey, with a second highest tally of 73 humpbacks the year before. It's hoped an upwards trend in humpback numbers will again be seen this year. Last year's survey also recorded the highest number of humpbacks in one day: 21 spotted on June 22.
The Cook Strait Whale Survey started yesterday and continues until Sat.July 6. It's been carried out annually since 2004, to assess humpback whale recovery since commercial whaling ended in New Zealand in 1964. It's timed for humpbacks' northern migration from Antarctic waters to South Pacific breeding grounds.

Seven former whalers have been part of the survey team from the outset, keenly putting their whalespotting skills and experience to use for the research which helps to protect whales in our waters.
Information to identify individual whales is gathered by approaching whales in boats, endeavouring to take photos and get skin samples using a biopsy dart tool. These are checked against photos and genetic samples from whales across the South Pacific to see if any match. The identification information to date shows some humpback whales, migrating through NZ waters, are also seen off the east coast of Australia and around New Caledonia.