Find a whio and win an adventure

DOC and Genesis Energy are working to raise awareness of the plight of the whio/blue duck through a national competition being run in conjunction with Conservation Week.

The whio/blue duck is only found in New Zealand. There are fewer than 3000 whio left. It is a nationally vulnerable species and faces a risk of becoming extinct.

Find a Whio, an online competition for Conservation Week, began on Sunday and runs through until the end of this month.

The competition involves looking for virtual whio on a map of New Zealand on http://www.doc.govt.nz/findawhio.

People can enter the game as many times as they like. The grand prize includes a whio adventure on a wild river, flights for two people, airport transfers and accommodation for three nights with meals.

Last year’s Conservation week winner Sarah Ridsdale went on a whio adventure on Mangatepopo Stream with DOC rangers. The prize also included rafting with Tongariro River Rafting. Sarah said, “I had an incredible time with the DOC rangers, learning about the amazing things they are doing to protect our environment and the special animals that live in it”. Sarah made a clip of her adventure that can be viewed at the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tEblg0PNw0

Finding a whio can involve a fair amount of searching. Over 180,000km of rivers have been mapped in New Zealand, and whio only live on a small proportion of these. DOC has partnered with Genesis Energy in a five year programme to secure the future of this unique vulnerable native bird, and the 2015 Conservation Week competition to ‘Find a Whio’ is another element of this successful partnership.

The whio or blue duck is featured on New Zealand’s $10 note. This species of native duck is only found in New Zealand’s fast flowing waters and is an important indicator of ecosystem health – whio only exist where there are high quality clean and healthy waterways.

ENDS

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