Kaikōura seabird deaths unusual says wildlife manager

Kaikōura Wildlife Rescue manager Sabrina Luecht said it has been a "summer of death" for seabirds in Kaikōura this year.

Sick and dead birds were handed in or being washed up on the beaches, and other prominent seabird places had the same issues, she said.

Luecht said there were still a lot of dead birds being found and  the high rate of fatalities was probably due to neurotoxin poisoning from an algae bloom or starvation because of the La Nina weather conditions when warmer water and different currents affected food sources.

Continued