Annual whale and dolphin count underway

Photo:
konart/123RF
An annual count of whales and dolphins is underway, with people across the motu keeping an eye out for sea mammals - big and small - from humpbacks to Hector's dolphins - this Matariki.
The Countrywide Whale and Dolphin Count started on Friday and will run through to Sunday.
Organiser Christine Rose said late June was "peak whale" time. Previous cetacean censuses had seen participants send in sightings of humpback and rare beaked whales, orca, and Hector's dolphins.
She said the land-based survey, which was in its sixth year, helped raise awareness of our oceans.
"It's important to encourage people to appreciate and celebrate the wonder of our oceans, and how precious they are, and also as part of citizen science to roughly track how many whales and dolphins are around our waters."
Rose said the count also celebrated the vulnerable sea mammals while highlighting the need to still protect them.
"[It gives people] the chance of seeing humpbacks and Southern Right [whales], which were almost driven to extinction, and celebrates the opportunity for resilience and recovery of species which are so majestic but were almost wiped out."
Rose said it was "exciting and a privilege" to see these creatures from land, and in some of the country's biggest and busiest ports.
"Those Southern Right Whales were taken to the brink of extinction, so it's an indelible experience for people to see a whale, especially so close to shore. It feels like we're being trusted by whales again. These animals are incredibly long lived, they're on epic journeys and every time you see one it feels special."
"I've seen whales and dolphins thousands of times, yet every time it's a reminder of our special role as stewards of the oceans that we share."
People can report sightings to Whale and Dolphin Watch's
Facebook page
.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero
,
a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

RNZ News

5 hours ago

• RNZ News

What can you do if your home isn't Healthy Homes compliant?

Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly Time is running out for rental properties to comply with Healthy Homes rules. By 1 July, all tenancies need to meet the rules. But what can you do if you're living in one that has not been brought up to standard? Here's what you need to know. The rules set basic standards for heating, insulation and ventilation. They've been brought in in stages, but from next month, every rental property needs to comply. Landlords need to provide one or more fixed heaters that can directly heat a home's main living room. These need to meet the minimum heating capacity. Properties need to be insulated in the ceiling and under the floor, unless the design of the home makes this impossible. Every liveable area needs a window or door that opens to the outdoors and can be fixed open. Kitchens and bathrooms need extractor fans. All rental properties also need efficient drainage, guttering and downpipes and any gaps or holes need to be blocked. If you're reading through that list and thinking the place you're renting isn't up to standard, there are a few things you can do. Kat Watson, head of tenancy at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, said tenants could start by talking to their landlords or property managers and checking for a healthy homes compliance statement in their tenancy agreements. If that doesn't solve the problem, they could then give their landlords written notice asking them to fix the issues. Tenants can give landlords a 14-day notice to resolve, requiring action on specific things. If you have no luck with these steps, you can apply to the Tenancy Tribunal for help. "An adjudicator can make decisions such as issuing a work order for the landlord to bring the property up to standard, order compensation to be paid for failing to do so in the first place or award damages to be paid by the landlord for not meeting minimum standards for rental properties," Watson said. "For serious or repeated breaches-especially those affecting vulnerable individuals-you can contact the Tenancy Compliance and Investigations Team. "Tenancy Services' website has great resources for first time tenants, to help them understand what to expect and what to look for when moving into a rental home, particularly for those renting for the first time. Tenants are responsible for keeping a rental property reasonably clean and tidy." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

RNZ News

6 hours ago

• RNZ News

Rēkohu celebrates Matariki and the arrival of Puanga

On Rēkohu, the largest island in the Chatham Islands, Moriori and Ngāti Mutunga will mark the new year celebrations together. Photo: Black Iris Productions On Rēkohu, in the Chatham Islands, traditional practices around Puanga are just one of the traditions being rediscovered. Moriori historically celebrated the star Puanga or Rigel to mark the new year. Hokotehi Moriori Trust chairman Hayden Preece said they are going through a mass rediscovery of their culture and traditions. "There is very little information about our traditions to be honest, one thing that we have found is that people would gather at the rising of Pūanga and they would point a stick with a kopi berry seed tied to the end and they would chant speeches of worship asking for fruitfulness of the kopi tree." The kopi tree - or karaka - was extremely important to Moriori, it was one of the only sources of carbohydrate in their diet so it was a integral to their survival, he said. "Part of the exciting rediscovery is we get to also add to these things. It's in line with most of our Polynesian cultures... to have that connection to the stars and to agriculture." Preece said Moriori operated on a 31 day lunar calendar and had names for every single one of those days, currently they have rediscovered 26. "So we know the first day Whiro is unlucky, avoid planting, fishing, travel, things like that." Next Wednesday students from Te One School on Rēkohu will hold their own hautapu ceremony, which Preece said will create some awareness for the children. Being able to convey that knowledge to the next generation is really important, he said. 95 percent of the population of Moriori have left the island, with only about 80 registered members on the island, he said. "Here on island with our limited population we tend to support and work together with our Ngāti Mutunga counterparts, not much point in trying to duplicate two different ceremonies, so we do a dual ceremony this year. We will look to expand and do our own one possibly next year and moving in to the future, but this year we are just going to support." Preece said he absolutely supports the idea of a national holiday. "It's awesome to see our culture being recognised across the board, our wider Polynesian culture too, it's important to so many people." Preece said he would love to see the national hautapu ceremony on the Chatham Islands one day. "We would welcome that opportunity. We might be a little bit stretched with our logistics and our ability to cater but we are a pretty resilient and resourceful people, we could make it happen. "Me rongo. And have a safe and happy Moriori new year." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

Otago Daily Times

7 hours ago

• Otago Daily Times

Another year in the life

Orokonui's takahē whānau is spreading its wings, Madison Kelly writes. The emergence of Puaka and Matariki in the night sky mark a period of change. Indicators of seasonal shifts and the incoming Māori new year, they compel us to look back, in preparation for the future. While colder months encourage us towards rest and reflection, our native birdlife is increasingly busy securing territories, mates and kai. The winter hustling of manu can be deceptively subtle. Peeping calls of kakaruai in the distance. A miromiro flitting past, beak full of nest-insulating lichen. Elsewhere in the sanctuary, certain pre-nesting agendas are more blatant. Throughout the grasslands, large clumps of disrupted earth pepper the ground. Neatly snipped toetoe lies in mysterious piles. Tussocks seem to bend at strange angles, compressed into miniature archways and domes. These industrious interventions are the work of takahē, who live under the care of Orokonui and the Department of Conservation's National Takahē Recovery Programme. Noticing signs of takahē browsing and nesting is an ecological treat. For many visitors, a journey in the valley may be their first and only chance to observe a wild environment complete with these mighty endemic swamp hens. Presumed extinct until their 1948 rediscovery in the Murchison Mountains, the resilient manu now number about 500 birds. These taoka live across a sparse but growing selection of sanctuary and wild sites throughout Aotearoa, first arriving at Orokonui in 2012. Recovery work begun 75 years ago saved the species from demise. Luckily, recent milestones at Orokonui point towards a more hopeful future for takahē. In the upper grasslands, a whānau of four are thriving. A recent visit from Doc saw positive health checks for both the breeding pair, Waimarie and Bennett, and their two juveniles, who also received their bands. The unique band combinations will act as visual identifiers for the rest of the juveniles' lives. The title for most surprising health check was undoubtedly claimed by the older of the two siblings, who weighed in at a hefty 2.8kg, already heavier than their mother Waimarie. Such results speak to Waimarie and Bennett's remarkable parenting, having successfully hatched nine chicks since their 2020 Orokonui translocation. Their capacity for chick-raising has been boosted by older offspring like Ihaka, one of three chicks from Summer 2023. Ihaka lived at Orokonui for a full year to help feed and care for his younger siblings. This year, he became the first Orokonui-born takahē to move directly into the wild. While many young takahē spend time honing their wild skills at Doc's Burwood Bush before release elsewhere, Ihaka graduated straight from the upper grasslands and joined a cohort in the Rees Valley, one of two wild sites on Ngāi Tahu land established in the past two years. Fitted with GPS tracking, information about Ihaka's movements and life in his new home will contribute to our growing understanding of wild takahē and their conservation. At Orokonui, supplementary plantings of haumata (tussock) — protected from browsing beaks by chicken wire cages — are now filling out open sections of pasture grass, getting ready to sustain incoming chicks and prepare them with vital foraging skills for their future departures. Of course, with departures come arrivals. At the valley floor, a new pair are finding their feet. Jessie, hailing from Burwood Bush, and Bounty, from Wairakei Golf + Sanctuary, bring the Orokonui population to six. While there's hope this young duo may one day raise their own chicks, their present task is adjusting to life on the east coast. Visitors walking the Robin Valley track are asked to give the young couple plenty of space while they take their time to settle. In many ways, Jessie and Bounty's arrival is perfectly timed for this turn in the year. Among new plans and new wishes for takahē we find a moment to reflect on their legacy in the sanctuary. Most recently, the lower valley site functioned as a retirement block for Orokonui's oldest takahē, Paku and Quammen. The pair lived the last 11 years of their lives at Orokonui and were impressive foster parents. Their first foster chick, Kotahi, later fathered our upper grassland's own Bennett. With each new season, the whakapapa and stories of these charismatic taoka become more richly woven. Ongoing work focused on takahē advocacy, sanctuary biosecurity, and developing our takahē friendly habitat are vital parts of the story. With the help of mana whenua, Orokonui staff, volunteers, and local supporters, together we can look forward to discovering how (and where) future takahē may roam. Madison Kelly is head kaiārahi/guide at Te Korowai o Mihiwaka Orokonui Ecosanctuary.