This month has been a blast with animal rescues in New Zealand, and we bring you the latest news on this year's Face of the Year, a kiwi named after Health Commissioner Bloomfield.
Little penguin rescued from breakwater
A little penguin was rescued after falling into a hole in a breakwater in the coastal region of Kapiti, about an hour's drive north of the capital Wellington, at the bottom of the North Island.
A local resident found the penguin stuck in a hole and contacted local environmental conservation experts who work to protect wildlife diversity, and a dramatic rescue ensued. According to the experts, the penguin had fallen into a hole created by soil erosion in the breakwater while trying to get down to the shore.
Andy Mackay, a local environmental consultant who rescued the penguin, brought a net that he uses at home to catch chickens, but the holes were too small, so he stuck his arm deep into the hole. Of course, he would have been bitten if he had used his bare hands, so he put on leather gloves to safely rescue the penguin.
Even though people knew that there were little penguins in the area, it was rare to encounter one during the day, so this was a rare occurrence for the locals. The locals watched the rescue.
This morning I got a phone call asking me to come rescue a kororā/little penguin that had fallen into a hole behind an eroding sea wall.
— Andy McKay (@KorimakoEcology) December 3, 2020
Pleased to report it all went well. pic.twitter.com/UTar0BB0FD
18 cows rescued from the river!
Firefighters, who are usually called out to emergency medical emergencies and traffic accidents, rushed to the scene after receiving a report that 18 cows were unable to get out of the river.
The cows were unable to climb the 4m-high bank and were stuck in the river. They had nowhere to go. So the firefighters used a 12-ton excavator to dig a 2m-deep trench to help the cows climb the bank, creating a path for the cows to pass through. But even after digging the trench, the cows were stuck in the mud and it was a big mess as they had to push and pull them out. They finally succeeded in pulling 18 of the cows out of the river.
It remains a mystery why the 18 cows were stuck in the river, but it seems they were startled by something, broke through the fence, and escaped from the ranch. It is estimated that they had been in the river for about 10 hours. Although the cows looked exhausted, they quickly began eating grass as soon as they got on land.
The firefighters had been rescuing a person from a car at a traffic accident just the day before. Rescuing a cow was a nice change from the usual human rescue. Kampman, a 45-year veteran firefighter, said:
There have been rescues of cows, sheep and dogs, but the rescue of this many cows has never happened before.
He said.
Health Commissioner Bloomfield meets Kiwis
Speaking of Health Commissioner Bloomfield, he is truly the face of New Zealand this year. After the new coronavirus was confirmed in New Zealand, he held daily television press conferences to report on the infection in New Zealand even during the strict lockdown.
This year, many animals have been named in honor of Insurance Commissioner Bloomfield.
This is Kea, a bird that lives in New Zealand. He was found weak on the road and rescued, and named Bloomfield.
And in September, a kiwi, a bird representing New Zealand, was born, named "Bloom". It grew up safely and met with Bloomfield, the Director of Health, the other day. It was released back into the wild.
Bloom was born at the National Kiwi Hatchery, a national kiwi conservation facility in Rotorua. More than 2,000 kiwis have been hatched at this facility so far. Wild kiwis live in a harsh environment where only 5% of them grow to adulthood. However, here, 95% of them grow up safely and are released back into the wild when they reach 1kg in weight.
Bloomfield, along with his wife and three children, was on hand to meet the adult Bloom and witness his release back into the wild.
Bloomfield said:
A lot of unusual things have happened this year, including this (a Kiwi being named after me).
He said,
I think that projects for Kiwis will be very important for the future of New Zealand, even from the perspective of tourism.
He thanked those involved in kiwi conservation.
*The website currently features photos from Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan's visit.
