Our 42 day adventure to Antarctica aboard NIWA’s RV Tangaroa is just beginning! My name is Blake Hornblow and I am a 2014 Blake NIWA Science Ambassador. I will be joining 40 crew and scientists from around the globe to study blue and humpback whales and Antarctic...
Today marks the halfway point in our journey and we have started the demersal trawling part of the voyage. Each day has been full-on with excitement and new things to learn and see. The highlight of the last few days was holding one of the biggest fish in the Southern...
On one of our final days on the Otago Peninsula we got the incredible experience of being part of a team that was tagging New Zealand sea lion pups. This team was made up from Shaun and Steve from the Sea Lion Trust, Mel from DOC, Lisa Argilla from Wellington Zoo, a...
Just as Sam and Dr Lisa were finishing up surgery on the female penguin with the tendon injury, I found myself assisting DOC Ranger Mel with retrieving two injured adult penguins and their two chicks from out in the field. We had left that morning with the promise of...
Over the last few days we have had a run-in with various sick yellow-eyed penguins (YEPs). We picked up a sick yellow-eyed penguin that had been collected the previous day. We assessed the bird at the Owaka DOC Base – he was emaciated, and Lisa identified the...
