Biology with Mr. Steggles!

This week Y12 and Y13 Biologists undertook a once in a lifetime opportunity to dissect both a Little Blue Penguin (Korora) and a Fiordland Crested Penguin (Tawaki) under the guidance and expertise of Lucy Waller from the Blue Penguin Trust and Marjan Sprock a local vet (and parent).

The students spent two hours carefully examining the anatomy and physiology of the birds, making careful notes and suggesting their cause of death from the evidence they could document (Sadly all of the birds have been found dead locally, most involved in accidents with cars).

All students acted with excellent professionalism and respect and were very much a credit to the school.

As a result of this, we have now been offered the chance to be involved in a research study carried out by a world-leading veterinarian and seabird researcher based in Brazil who will guide us through the careful dissection of the birds' heads looking for respiratory mites. Lucy is hoping to come in within the next few weeks to carry this out with our students.