Two a penny

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Rare find on Northland beach

Dargaville News Friday, 13 February 2009

SLIPPERY ONE: A snake eel washed up in Northland today.

In arare find, a fisherman hasfound a large snake eel washed up on Northland's Kauri Coast.
The 2.
Commercial fisherman BillMilich, of Te Kopuru,said the fish was very much alive when he found it andit tried to bite him.5m long creature had washed ashore about 12km south of Glinks Gully, on the Kauri Coast, at10am today."
When he returned to where the eel was lying on the beach, it was dead and seagulls were attacking it.
"I decided to leave it alone for a while.
"I decided to take it back to Dargaville to show it off to the grandkids."
Bill says that Kelly Tarlton's told him it was a snake eel as a result of its round tail and three rows of sharp teeth. The last one I found was 30 years ago. .
There were two rows of teeth on the sides and one down the middle.

. He says he intends to use it as fertiliser for the garden

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Daughter gives voice to silent struggle

By KIM KNIGHT – Sunday, 08 February 2009

Sunday Star-Times
HEROES: John Whittaker with his daughter Alix. The pair are fighting to retain the 35-hours a week home help John relies on for meals, cleaning and social contact, after his community services card expired and they discovered he wasn’t eligable for a new one.

Alix Whittaker's hero can't talk; can barely walk. When he cries, it's silent until he presses an electronic larynx to his throat: "Sorry," he says to his 19-year-old daughter.
One of his big toes has been amputated, he needs kidney dialysis three times a week and he is blind in his left eye.
His daughter Alix was preparing to quit work to care for him.
Last Thursday, Aucklander John Whittaker, 52, was a desperate man, fighting to keep the 35-hours-a-week home help he relies on for meals, cleaning and social contact. Now, following inquiries from the Sunday Star-Times, the pair have been told they will be visited by Work and Income New Zealand and Ministry of Health officials who will conduct financial and support needs assessments.
Stephanie Julian, lead media adviser for ACC, said, "we are extremely mindful of the situation and are wanting to make sure he gets the care he needs and is eligible for".
"All parties are working together to ensure Mr Whittaker receives the appropriate support he is eligible for," said Harvey Steffans, acting deputy director general, health and disability national services. "No one knows where to place me," says John.
But the Whittakers have lost faith.
"He's just asking for a continuation of the services he's been provided with for the last six to seven years. And Alix is tired of dealing with bureaucracy. We just want him to maintain the quality of life that he has already. We just want him to maintain the quality of life that he has already. Last month, she penned more than 20 letters to politicians, government departments and the media, seeking help for her father after his community services card expired and they discovered they weren't eligible for a new one. She is the stage manager for an upcoming outdoor Shakespeare production. Because he's so strong. She did it she says "because he's awesome."
Alix, an only child, was 11 years old when her diabetic father slipped into a coma. Because he's my hero. "It was all I knew how to cook. She had just made eggs and toast for tea. Her father had fallen out of bed and the nightmare had begun." Later, she heard a thump. Accident Compensation Corporation pays John $30,000 annually following the tracheostomy that saved his life but froze his voice. Accident Compensation Corporation pays John $30,000 annually following the tracheostomy that saved his life but froze his voice. The payment puts him $7634 above the income threshold for the community services card that qualifies him for $18,000 a year worth of home help. .
"Winz don't want to take responsibility for me because I get ACC," says John. "ACC don't want to take responsibility because I have other health problems outside the ACC claim."
What's it like to literally have no voice? John raises the nine-volt battery-powered wand to his throat. "It's the thoughts that make you who you are. It's what you think. So you've just got to think positively, basically."
The man who was once active in community theatre, who used to play rugby, cricket, badminton and tennis, now spends his day watching sport on television. He can stand up for just a few minutes at a time. He has a heart condition, and the diabetes he was diagnosed with, aged four, has damaged his kidneys and left him with little feeling in his legs.
"My life exists from TV to hospital, from TV to hospital. It's not much of a life."

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Kakapo back to nest after 21 years

– Sunday, 08 February 2009

A Momentous Waitangi Day on Whenua Hou/Codfish Island has seen a male kakapo rediscovered 21 years after vanishing and world-first artificial insemination using the sole surviving Fiordland kakapo.
Rangi's miraculous find by kakapo ranger Chris Birmingham boosts the critically endangered endemic parrot population to 91 and potentially adds important genetic diversity.
The flightless nocturnal bird was one of four male kakapo released on the 1400ha conservation sanctuary, close to Stewart Island, in 1987 without a transmitter.
Birmingham told the Sunday Star-Times he was surprised to hear a male booming, its unique resonant mating call, close to South Bay, where no kakapo had been detected before. He had not been seen since. He bolted so I followed him through the supplejack and ferns.
"I followed the booming sound and eventually spotted him. Finally, when it was safe, I managed to grab him. Incredibly, Rangi survived two aerial poison drops during Codfish Island's rat eradication in 1998."
It was only then that he realised the bird's significance because it wore a numbered metal band on his leg. He vanished within seconds into the island's thick undergrowth, but has now been fitted with a transmitter to ensure his days of anonymity are over.
Once Rangi's vitals were checked, showing he was in top form, sperm was collected from him before he was carefully carried back to home territory and released. DNA research was also planned.
Tests later that day at a makeshift laboratory on the island showed he had high quality sperm.
Rangi's discovery could improve the species chances if he is genetically different to the other birds, the kakapo team's technical officer, Daryl Eason said.
Rangi's discovery could improve the species chances if he is genetically different to the other birds, the kakapo team's technical officer, Daryl Eason said."
Meanwhile on Friday, Richard Henry, the only surviving Fiordland kakapo (the rest were caught on Stewart Island or were their descendants), gave what could be his last shot at fatherhood. Rangi was a founder bird and he could be a very important bird.
Although checks showed it to be poor-quality, it was used to artificially inseminate a female kakapo to try for more offspring with his valuable diverse genes.
For the first time ever, sperm was collected from the bird, which is estimated to be at least 70 years old.
Spanish vet Dr Juan Blanco, a world-renowned expert in assisted reproductive techniques in endangered birds, was also on the island developing artificial insemination of kakapo.
"Anything's worth a try with him but it may be too late," Eason said. The female kakapo had since laid two eggs, raising hopes of success.
He made international history 12 days ago by becoming the first person to artificially inseminate a wild endemic endangered bird. . The insemination of the kakapo with Richard Henry's sperm was only the second effort at using the cutting-edge technique.
Eason said predictions for 40 chicks were on track.
Eason said predictions for 40 chicks were on track. By yesterday, 17 female kakapo had mated, seven had nested and 14 eggs laid, but more nests, eggs and matings were expected daily for weeks to come.

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Stingray puts swimmer in hospital

By TOM HUNT – Sunday, 08 February 2009

Two deep, tearing wounds in a Motueka swimmer's back yesterday were caused by a stingray, not a shark as police first thought.
Yesterday at 3.
French did not see what attacked him but paramedics initially told the Sunday Star-Times the wounds looked more like a shark bite than a stingray puncture.30pm police cleared the beaches around Kina Beach (between Motueka and Nelson), after 46-year-old builder Mike French staggered out of waist-deep water with deep lacerations in his back. .
French was flown by helicopter to Nelson Hospital, where his wounds were found to be caused by a stingray.15pm. Police had reopened the beaches by 5.
He said he was about 100m out when he felt something hit him in the side.
French spoke to the from his hospital bed moments before his surgery began.
Rachid ben Zaoui, who was walking on the beach, heard French cry out in pain as he reached the shallows, and gave him assistance. Then came the pain – hitting 10 on a one-to-10 scale.
This was the fourth stingray attack in two years that ambulance staff in the area have attended, he says.
Paramedic John Leach said the wounds looked up to 8cm deep, and French was treated for shock and blood loss.
-with Sally Kidson and