Say your Last Goodbyes to EcoWorld’s amazing animals - your last chance.
Saturday 10 & Sunday 11 December. Open 10am to 4pm. Entry by donation.
EcoWorld Aquarium in Picton is being forced to close after 20 amazing years.
EcoWorld's wishes to say Big thanks to all or visitors and supporters.
EcoWorld's Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre
EcoWorld is Picton's local Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, taking in and caring for sick and injured native wildlife. Our aim is to rehabilitate and release back into the wild.
Blue Penguins
We operate as a rescue centre for the Blue Penguin (Eudyptula minor), also known in Maori as korora. Our local Vet, Department of Conservation staff, members of the public and local organisations bring sick, injured or weak penguins into us. We care for them until they are well enough to be released back into the wild. We do not keep any Penguins to have on display permanently.
Poppy the Penguin's Story
Poppy was brought into us by a member of the public. She was found down by Kaikoura, inland and not looking too flash. When she arrived at EcoWorld, she was underweight but perfectly fine otherwise. Her adult feathers had just come in so we suspect as they came in, her parents then left her to fend for herself. In doing so she become a bit confused and headed inland and got lost! She was with us for 2 weeks before being released back to the wild.
Four Penguins and a storm water drain story
Four adult Penguins were found in a storm water drain near the Interislander terminal. All four were underweight and it was presumed that one of the penguins had gone exploring into the drain and the other three followed, which resulted in all of them becoming stuck! Our key priority was to rehabilitate the penguins at EcoWorld until their weight had improved, after which time they were released onto Kaipupu Wildlife Sanctuary.
Yellow Crown Kakariki
And our commitment to the Able Tasman's biodiversity
As part of Project Janszoon, we breed Yellow-crown Kakariki for release into the Able Tasman National Park. The goal is to restore and improve the Able Tasman's rich biodiversity.
The Yellow-crown Kakariki birds are endemic to New Zealand and were once extremely common across the country and are now quite rare in most areas on the mainland. They are now found mostly on off-shore predator free islands.
There are 4 breeding facilities, including Eco World, across the Marlborough region who breed these beautiful birds. To date 54 young birds have been released into the National Park. We currently have another 5 Kakariki soon to be released!
Keith the Kereru's story
Meet Keith the Kereru who was brought in by some lovely local women who had found him on the forest floor. It seemed as though he had fallen from the nest. He was with us for around 6 weeks growing bigger and gaining strength everyday. He had a very charming personality - flapping his wings and chirping every time we came into the room. Once he was a bit bigger and stronger we transferred him to the large aviary in the aquarium where he could practice his flying before we released him onto the Kaipupu bird sanctuary, his new home and happy place.
Keith on the first day he was brought in.
The Kereru, or New Zealand Wood Pigeon, is an endemic bird found across the country in a variety of habitats. The main threat to this large bird is mammalian predation by feral cats, stoats, possums and rats.
When nesting they make a platform of dead twigs to lay their egg on, but these 'nests' are known for being quite flimsy and easy for predator attack!
Keith the Kereru awaiting release to Kaipupu Sanctuary - a happy story
Case Studies
We care for a variety of bird species through the Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, from shore birds such as the Blue Heron, Shag and Gannet to forest birds like the Kereru, Morepork and Kakariki.
Keep checking back here to learn about our current rehabilitation stories and follow their journey and release back to the natural environment.
