Rare birds saved from NZ ship oil spill
- 12 years ago
Conservationists release 15 rare dotterel birds into the wild on a New Zealand beach.
The birds had previously been rescued from an oil spill caused by the stricken ship Rena off the country's coast.
Dotterels are an endangered species, and scientists are hoping their release during breeding season will boost their numbers.
On October 5 Rena ran aground on coral off the coast.
When her hull developed cracks, oil began to spill into New Zealand's Bay of Plenty.
More than 1,300 birds and other animals perished in the resulting oil slick.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) ENDANGERED BIRD EXPERT, JOHN DOWDING, SAYING:
"On the stretch of coastline that was affected by the oil, between about Waihi Beach and Otamarakau, we had about 120 dotterels at the time of the oil spill, and we caught 60 of those, so that's almost exactly half the local population. The reason we did that was to ensure that this regional population survives."
It's estimated there are only 1,700 New Zealand dotterels left in the wild.
Conservationists still have another 30 of the birds in captivity, but they're waiting for other beaches to be free of oil before they can be released.
Travis Brecher, Reuters
The birds had previously been rescued from an oil spill caused by the stricken ship Rena off the country's coast.
Dotterels are an endangered species, and scientists are hoping their release during breeding season will boost their numbers.
On October 5 Rena ran aground on coral off the coast.
When her hull developed cracks, oil began to spill into New Zealand's Bay of Plenty.
More than 1,300 birds and other animals perished in the resulting oil slick.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) ENDANGERED BIRD EXPERT, JOHN DOWDING, SAYING:
"On the stretch of coastline that was affected by the oil, between about Waihi Beach and Otamarakau, we had about 120 dotterels at the time of the oil spill, and we caught 60 of those, so that's almost exactly half the local population. The reason we did that was to ensure that this regional population survives."
It's estimated there are only 1,700 New Zealand dotterels left in the wild.
Conservationists still have another 30 of the birds in captivity, but they're waiting for other beaches to be free of oil before they can be released.
Travis Brecher, Reuters