Blink and you'll miss it, but for nine years, the South Island Wildlife Hospital has done a lion's share of work, saving the lives of hundreds of birds. The trouble is, the hospital is bursting at the seams Seven Sharp reporter Rachel Parkin writes.
Stepping inside the Christchurch-based Wildlife Hospital, the first thing I noticed was the space - or lack thereof.
"She's tight!" I remarked to veterinarian Pauline Howard.
Howard laughed: "Yes it is!"
The second thing I observed was the incredible amount of work they do there.
Forty spaces sat gridded out on a whiteboard to mark plumed-patient progress. A melange of fruit, veggies and rice were hurriedly being prepped in a teeny-tiny kitchen for hungry mouths.
"Do you like our new green walls?" Howard asked, eyes bright. She told me that volunteers recently painted the walls and had lifted spirits no end.
I saw banded dotterel eggs sitting toasty and warm in incubators, preparing to hatch. And out the back, an injured baby kea was learning to fly after her weight had begun to climb.
"When the kea arrived she weighed 415 grams and she was terribly underweight," Howard said. "Now she can fly back and forth again."
Hilary the shark-ravaged Fiordland penguin (named after a certain Seven Sharp presenter) was re-learning to swim in a sad-looking paddling pool.
"Being in the pool is a good chance for her to exercise that injured flipper," noted Howard who works six days a week, often through the night.
The veteran veterinarian said she's happy in her work but tired. She's also getting worried.
The hospital - although bursting with beautiful birds and passionate people - runs on donations and the smell of an oily rag. It needs funding to build a much bigger facility.
When there's no more room at the inn, currently, Howard takes birds home.
"How does your husband feel about that?" I asked, genuinely curious.
"Luckily he loves birds too!" she remarked. "And cooks dinner every night, except for my day off."
Chez Howard, as you read this, there are two swans and a pukeko in the garden.
"We're the overflow," Howard laughed.
The South Island Wildlife Hospital has set up a Givealittle page to help fund their work.
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