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Hector dolphins/Papakanua
Might be seen along the Catlins Coast, Porpoise Bay or in Te Waewae Bay.
To avoid disturbing these dolphins it is best to watch them from the shore and not go swimming with them.

Yellow-eyed penguins/Hoiho
Best seen from the viewing hide at Roaring Bay and at the Nuggets/Tokata.
Never approach a penguin, they are and sensitive birds.
If you think a penguin has seen you, please leave the area.
Don’t take your dog near penguins. Dogs kill penguins.

New Zealand sea lions/Rapoka and fur seals/Kekeno
Best seen at Cannibal Bay and Surat Bay.
Never go between them and the sea. The sea is their escape route.
Never go closer than 20 meters.
Male New Zealand sea lions may be aggressive during the breeding season (summer). Be careful and keep your dog on a leash.

Dolphins, seals, sea lions and penguins are fully protected under New Zealand law. It is illegal to disturb them.

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I saw fireflies for the first time in Waipu cave. We stopped there on our way to Whangarei, and I was very happy that we did. Many tourists who plan thoroughly their visit in NZ include this stalactite cave in their itinerary, and after visiting it myself I understand why. I strongly advise you not to pass on Waipu cave. For a visit you will need sandals to walk in water, clothing which you won’t hesitate to spoil, and a flashlight. The great thing about this cave is that it was not “civilized”. There are no boardwalks or electric lights and it feels untouched and prehistoric. When you get far enough from the entrance for the outside light to vanish, turn off your flashlight and look up… I will never forget this sight of starry sky. When your eyes will get used to the darkness, the light from the glowworms is bright enough to see where you walk.

The second time I saw the glowworm wonder was in Trounson Kauri Park, which is located in western Northland, 40km north of Dargaville. I was there during Kiwi breeding season, and a park ranger advised me to go for a night walk in the park for kiwi spotting. So I went for a night walk in Trounson Kauri Park, and while looking for kiwis I stumbled upon a huge Kauri stump which was settled by a glowworm colony. In the dark it looked like a magic house with many rooms with lights turned on.

The big question, however, is why and how glowworms glow, and why evolution haven’t denied them this non camouflaging quality (glowworms are seen from long distance in the dark, which may make them more vulnerable)?

It turns out that glowworms managed to accomplish something that scientists are still unable to do and only recently got closer to achieving – they use almost 100% of their energy for lighting! Let me explain: for example in the usual light bulb less than 10% of the energy is used for lighting, while the rest of the energy is wasted as heat. Glowworms however emit “cold light”. After all, they can not afford to spend most of their energy on heating because they would virtually cook themselves!

The organ that is responsible for light emission in glowworms has very complicated structure, and the chemical processes which take place are complicated even more. They engage oxygen, nitric acid, adenosine triphosphate molecule (ATP), and Luciferin pigment. The result is – bioluminescence - difficult word to describe this complex process! The organ emits light when there is enough oxygen, and stops emitting when oxygen run out. Glowworms are also capable of scintillating, which depends on nitrogen supply to the organ.

Glowworms glow for various reasons. They produce substances in their bodies which make them an unpleasant food to predators and their glow serves as indicator to it. Another reason for glowing is to attract the opposite sex. Each mature glowworm scintillates in a unique way, so that their mates can distinguish them from other glowworms. Scientific research shows that female glowworms choose their males according to their flashing. Turns out that two types of glowworm females prefer males with brighter luminescence and a higher frequency of flashing. Hungry glowworms also shine brighter than usual to attract other insects, which fly towards bright light and directly into a trap. They get caught in silk threads and eaten by the glowworms.

The ability to shine remains with the glowworm during all stages of its development: larvae, pupae and adulthood. People in many countries used glowworms as a natural jewelry and a tiny source of light.

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Lets start with the Facts:

• Department of Conservation responds to about 85 stranding incidents a year.

• Most strandings are of solitary animals.

• Most common stranding species: The common dolphin - Delphinus delphis and Pygmy sperm whale - Kogia breviceps.

• Most common mass strandings species are long-finned pilot whales - Globicephala melas.

• The largest mass stranding in New Zealand was in 1918, in which one thousand whales stranded on  Chatham Islands.

• Maori see dolphins and whales as treasured species. They often get involved in the rescue to ensure that it is being done according to Maori custom.

• Even the largest toothed whale, the sperm whale has been known to mass strand on NZ shores.

Safety during the Rescue

First of all remember that Whale strandings can be dangerous for humans. As I wrote in my previous article, do follow all the instructions DoC staff will give you, and remember that you are responsible for yourself.

• If you arrive at the rescue site after the DoC, report to DoC staff.

• Always work with someone, have at least one partner to be with.

• Don’t come into contact with animals’ body fluids or blowhole exhalent. Marine mammals can carry various diseases.

• Use rubber gloves for handling injured animals.

• Cover any abrasions that you have.

• Stay away from the mouth and tail, since whales can become agitated in stress.

• When in the water - always stay in your comfort zone and also be visible to boats at all times.

• Volunteers who go into the water must be physically fit, healthy and able to swim.

• Don’t forget to drink, take breaks when necessary, use sunscreen and cover you head, and stay warm.

• Remember that you are responsible for your own children!

• If you become ill within two months of handling a marine mammal, advise your GP.

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Most of strandings occur in summer and involve one or two animals, but there are also mass strandings (which are much less common) that may involve hundreds of animals. Stranding animals usually won’t survive without human help, and here you will learn what you can do to help them return to water.

The procedure is divided into five stages, but before reading them please note that each stranding is unique, so best advice is - follow the directions of DoC staff at all times. Always remember that your safety is the most important thing. In some cases DoC staff will have no choice but to put down animals, so be prepared for such outcome.

1. The initial response

So if you are the fist to see stranded marine mammal, the first thing you should do is to contact DoC (Department of Conservation) immediately. You should always follow the directions that DOC staff gives you.
- Don’t make any loud noises and unnecessary movement in order to keep the animal calm.
- If the animal lies on the side, you should move it to upright position. In order to do that, digging a shallow trench alongside the animal and rolling it gently upright into the trench may be required. But pay attention and dig an appropriate hole for the flippers so you won’t damage them while rolling the animal.
- Try to touch the animal as little as possible, and always watch the mouth and the tail - that will keep you safe.
- Marine mammals should be kept cool and shaded. For that cover them with wet sheets, and constantly pour seawater over them, mostly on the tail fluke and flippers. You can even dig moats around the tail and flippers, but whatever you do, don’t cover the blowhole and don’t pour water into it.

2. Re-floating the animal

In brief - wait for the tide to return and then carefully re-float the animal and hold them until they are calmed down.

- Gently rock a floating animal from side to side in order to help it regain its balance.
- Once the animal is stabilized, it should be carefully leaded out into deeper water. Slings or pontoons can be used for shifting small whales or dolphins.
Never tow the animal by tail or flippers, because you can easily dislocate them! Remember that whales are big animals, and several people may be required in order to keep them under control.

3. Holding still

After reaching the deeper water, animals should be held and kept calm for as long as possible.
This is crucial stage in case of a mass stranding, because it is very important that any stragglers will catch up before the pod is released together. Otherwise a re-stranding can occur.

4. Release

After the animal is released, you may be asked by DoC rangers together with other rescuers to form a human chain parallel to the shore. This chain will create a barrier between the released animals and the beach so they would go deeper into the ocean. Just beware of any boats that DoC might use to help with herding offshore.

5. Return to shore

When the animals are released and are moving away from the shore, you and other rescuers will need to return to the shore. Boats may assist.
- Please help collecting the equipment left on the beach.
- Help in additional cleaning tasks such as removing dead animals, or helping DoC staff to take scientific samples from dead animals.

In my next post I write about the personal safety of the people involved in the rescue and about additional stranding facts. You can read it here

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Paua in the Science

The scientific name of Paua is Haliotis iris. It is a marine mollusk famous for its overflowing pearl shells. Paua lives only in New Zealand’s coastal waters. Paua belongs to Haliotidae family or simply abalone (”sea-ear” or “ear shell”). More than one hundred different types of mollusks of this family are thermophilic, and live near the American Pacific coast, African coasts and Mediterranean Sea. But only New Zealand’s Paua has a unique mother-of-pearl sink.

On the following image you can see Paua with half of its shelf polished. Notice the unusual pattern of colors, which makes Paua so unique.

Origin and family of Paua

Names of mollusks from the Haliotidae family differ between countries. As I already mentioned they called Paua in New Zealand, Baui in Burma, Avabi in Japan, Ormier in UK and France, Ear Shell in Australia, and Perlemon in South Africa. In the west a name abalone or sea-ear is most common. Though these mollusks differ slightly from each other in every country, they still belong to one family. All of them are ear-shaped with small holes near the outer edge of the shell, living in coastal waters.

In order to resist the waves abalone developed a “leg” which sticks so firmly to the rocks that you can’t detach it without using a knife. They eat algae and microorganisms through the “mouth area” and in the same area they have gills for breathing. Sea-ears can be males and females but they have an external fertilization. In spawning period mollusk throws out thousands or even millions (depending on body size) eggs, but only one percent of them reaches puberty. Being sedentary mollusks, Sea-ears nevertheless commit daily and seasonal migration in search of food and to escape from their enemies such as fish, crabs, octopus, sea stars and some carnivorous snails.

Paua as beauty and delicacy

Paua has the most colorful sink in the world, and other mollusks from Haliotidae family can’t compete with its shine and beauty. After polishing, Paua sink’s colors vary between green, pink, blue and Purple. Some Paua have even golden shells and dark shades of red. These colors make Paua shells an attractive material for different crafts. Maori traditionally use Paua shells for encrustation of their products. The carving art of Maori goes back many ages, and since they didn’t have writing for a long time, they used to express themselves through different, very interesting and beautiful ornaments. Paua craft products are still valuable: jewelry and other crafts are still being made using Paua shells.
Once there was a house in town of Bluff was a whole house decorated with 1170 Paua shells. Now these shells are displayed in Canterbury Museum.

However Paua are not only beautiful, they are also very tasty and was very common in Maori diet. Reaching the size of steaks, after a special preparation the Paua meat is a delicacy. The special Maori preparation of Paua consists of burying it in the ground for several weeks in order to soften it. Paua also has healing properties – it is reach in minerals, vitamins and proteins, which improve the overall health and tonus of the human body, improve the work of the heart and immune system.

Protecting Paua

Nowadays there are strict quotas on gathering Paua. Paua under certain size can’t be taken from the sea, people aren’t allowed to use diving equipment when gathering Paua and other restrictions are applied. Nevertheless there are plenty of places in New Zealand where you can buy a Paua jewelry and eat Paua delicacies.

Click on the thumbnail to view larger photo.

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