This month we bring you news about all kinds of animals, from cows to dogs to kiwis. We also have some highlights from our popular live stream of the baby albatross!
Bull who sires 170,000 calves inducted into Hall of Fame
First up, some cow news from New Zealand, a dairy powerhouse.
Beameer, a bull who fathered more than 170,000 dairy cows, has been inducted into LIC's hall of fame. The announcement was made at a cattle breeders event in May.
LIC's Hall of Fame was established in 1954 by the Livestock Improvement Corporation (LIC), an organization of dairy farmers, to honour cows that have made a significant contribution to New Zealand's dairy industry.
Beamer is 11 years old and was born in 2010. Dairy cows born as Beamer's children through artificial insemination are said to be found as far away as Ireland and South Africa.
LIC spokesman Simon Worth said Beamer was the 58th cow to be inducted into the hall of fame.
Beamer is a Hall of Fame worthy cow. Not only did he have 170,000 cows, he also sired 92 bulls and has 54 grandsons who will surely follow in his footsteps.
He said.
Having achieved great things, Beamer has retired from breeding and now lives a relaxed life on a farm.
Lost dog accidentally rescued by lifeguard!
Zoe Lauder was out walking her Border Collie when she came across the crying white dog stuck on the riverbank.
I was really surprised to see a dog in such a place and panicked, but I knew I couldn't just leave it there.
"But the riverbank where the dog was was at the bottom of a 10m cliff. The only way to reach the dog was to swim across the river. So Zoe immediately called her partner, Fletcher Harnish.
Yes, Fletcher was a professional lifeguard and diver! Fletcher immediately arrived at the scene with a wetsuit and flippers! The current in the river was not calm, and it took some time to reach the other side, but as soon as Fletcher got close, the dog jumped onto his shoulders, and the two were able to safely return to the shore where Zoe was waiting.
Molly, the lost dog, was rescued and safely returned to her owner, who was especially relieved that Molly was found, as she had just lost another puppy in a traffic accident a month earlier.
You can see a video of the rescue in the news article.
▶ Molly the dog home safe after three-hour rescue mission at Waikato River
Kiwi population on the rise on Coromandel Peninsula
Kiwis are New Zealand's iconic flightless birds, and there are currently an estimated 68,000 of them in existence, with their numbers declining by about 2% each year.
Despite these difficult conditions, the Coromandel Peninsula, on the northern coast of the North Island, made the news after successfully achieving an astounding 4% increase.
The secret lies in Rotoroa Island , off the coast of the peninsula. This island is a sort of paradise for birds, as it is completely devoid of mammals, which are their natural enemies.
Coromandel kiwis hatch at 200g and are sent to Rotoroa Island. They grow to 1200g there and are then returned to Coromandel. The chicks spend their most dangerous time as they are vulnerable to weasels and other predators in a safe place. As a result, the number of Coromandel kiwis is gradually increasing.
A news report on this project showed the work of people who found kiwis living on Rotoroa Island, confirmed that they had grown to 1,200g, and then captured them. The kiwis were found by dogs!
Dogs are also kiwis' natural enemies (there have been many reported cases of kiwis being killed by dogs), but these dogs, called "kiwi dogs," are trained to find kiwis. They can detect not only the smell but also the sounds that humans cannot hear.
Recently, seven kiwis have grown up and returned to the Coromandel.
New Zealand has a goal of increasing the kiwi population to 100,000 by 2030, and conservation groups across the country are working to achieve this.
Captured a mother albatross?!
We bring you highlights from our frequent live streams of chicks from their habitat on the Otago Peninsula.
This chick was named Tiaki this month. On May 25th, it was born and reached 121 days old, weighing 7.8kg. You can clearly see the black feathers starting to grow under the down.
Here are some of the most interesting things I've seen recently.
First, the mother bird, commonly known as LGL, returns to the nest to feed her chicks. Two rangers are nearby. One of them approaches quietly and confirms that it is LGL who has returned. He then watches as he feeds the chicks. After feeding them, when LGL moves away from the chicks a little, the two rangers quietly approach (from around 7:00 in the video). Yes, the mission for these two today was to capture LGL!
LGL notices a person approaching and tries to escape... Only an albatross can run away without flying away! And at just the right time, LGL runs towards the camera.
Here's Tiaki stuck in a hole! He looks quite big now, but the way he walks slowly and cries makes him seem like a baby.
