Vote Fiji Petrel !!

Vote Fiji Petrel !!

The ‘Bird of the Year’ competition has been launched and Fiji is entering for the first time – act now !!

New Zealand’s Forest and Bird, have recently launched their ‘Bird of the Year’ campaign with a focus on seabirds.

Our own Fiji Petrel has infiltrated the 29 ‘kiwi’ hopefuls and with the haka and bole delivered it’s game on!

Over the next three weeks our Kacau ni Gau needs you, your friends, all of Fiji, Fijians everywhere and Fijians at heart to go to the website http://www.birdoftheyear.org.nz/ and cast their vote (note a confirmation email will need to be acknowledged which may appear in your junk mail).

In encouraging people to do this we need to tweet, twitter, blog, blag and blather the Fiji Petrel story get (liking it?) on facebook and use fun and innovative ways to raise the Petrel profile; a press release, a promotion ‘Petrel for Prime Minister’ ok, maybe not… but whatever it takes so that come November 23rd when the votes are tallied the ‘Bird of the Year’ is ours!

First at sea photos of the Fiji Petrel were taken as recently as 2009 in an NFMV-organised expedition. 
First at sea photos of the Fiji Petrel were taken as recently as 2009 in an NFMV-organised expedition.

Why the Fiji Petrel ?

Until a bird was captured in 1984, the Fiji Petrel was previously thought extinct and known only from a single museum specimen collected in 1855. It’s thought that fewer than 50 individuals remain and like New Zealand, Fiji has been swamped with introduced predators – including cats, rats and pigs, all of which are thought to predate eggs, chicks, or adult birds. NatureFiji-MareqetiViti is working with local communities on Gau to prevent the extinction of this iconic Gau seabird. Bob and Tar – New Zealand trained petrel-detector dogs have located nearly 100 petrel burrows to date. None confirmed yet as a Fiji Petrel burrow, but we think it is only a matter of time as long as NFMV can find the resources to keep the team in the field – assistance is urgently needed.

Mt Delaco, Gau’s summit, a background to the rugged forest typical of upland Gau – hiding somewhere the nesting burrows of the Fiji Petrel. Photo: Dick Watling/NFMV
Mt Delaco, Gau’s summit, a background to the rugged forest typical of upland Gau – hiding somewhere the nesting burrows of the Fiji Petrel. Photo: Dick Watling/NFMV
Bob and Tar, NZ-trained petrel detector dogs with their handlers Eli O’Conner and Poasa Qalo
Bob and Tar, NZ-trained petrel detector dogs with their handlers Eli O’Conner and Poasa Qalo

Question ? Will Fijian’s everywhere vote en masse, and crown a non-New Zealand seabird as New Zealand’s Bird of the Year?

Our election scrutinisers are shuffling uneasily in their seats.

Go on Fiji, make their day and help NatureFiji-MareqetiViti – “Vuka ra Kacau, vuka ra Kacau …”.

November 7, 2014May 10, 20150
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