The birds are mainly juveniles who have likely been unable to feed themselves after fledging from their nests.
Whakatane senior biodiversity ranger Jessyca Bernard said DOC has sent four for necropsy to rule out other causes of death.
“It is concerning that our records of little blue penguin ‘die off‘ events seem to indicate it’s happening more frequently,” Jessyca Bernard says.
“Like humans all over the world, other animals are also finding that changes in our global climate can have negative effects on their ability to survive.
“Fluctuations in the average annual sea water temperature around northern Aotearoa seem to be having a knock-on effect for seabirds, especially penguins”
When northeast winds and warmer subtropical seas head towards Aotearoa, it changes the prey species distribution and foraging conditions are more challenging for seabirds.
Penguins being flightless are unable to go a long way from the colony to try and reach cooler waters and therefore are more affected in years with warmer water.
