Beaks, Paws & Claws Animal Rescue Otago

Beaks, Paws & Claws Animal Rescue Otago Permitted by the Department of Conservation, we are an animal rescue based in North Otago, NZ, helping a variety of both native and non-native animals.

The face of Muttonbird.This juvenile Sooty Shearwater (Tītī) ended up in a bit of strife last week having fledged too ea...
28/05/2026

The face of Muttonbird.

This juvenile Sooty Shearwater (Tītī) ended up in a bit of strife last week having fledged too early and landing somewhere it shouldn't have, but luckily our friends at the Oamaru Penguin Colony were on hand to look after the wee one before getting in touch.

Many people have heard of Muttonbird, but not many people have ever seen one before it's on their plate.

These young birds like the one pictured are harvested at traditional sites around Stewart Island by descendants of Rakiura Maori. 'Muttonbirders' can access the islands from 15 March to prepare for the harvest, which starts on 1 April and can continue until 31 May.

During the first half of the season, chicks are extracted from their burrows during the daytime.The total harvest from the Stewart Island region is estimated to be around 400,000 chicks per annum 😞

Thankfully, this wee one has escaped such a fate and ended up joining a whole nursery full of young ones at Dunedin Wildlife Hospital, where it will remain until they are at a healthy weight and in good condition to be released ❤️

This story starts back in February, when the lovely Trish from PT's PET Transport put out a plea on their page ...
15/05/2026

This story starts back in February, when the lovely Trish from PT's PET Transport put out a plea on their page regarding an injured Pukeko on the side of the road coming into Dunedin.

We just so happened to be travelling past and were able to locate the poor wee thing, emaciated and bleeding in the pouring down rain. We bundled it up and headed straight to Dunedin Wildlife Hospital where the amazing team there worked their magic and after some TLC it was transferred back into our care for the final stages of rehab.

Around this time we also collected Pablo, a young Pukeko from Bird Rescue Dunedin, one that had been lovingly raised from a wee baby. Anyone that has worked with young pukekos before will know just how easily they imprint on people if they are not around their own kind, so to be able to have a wild Pukeko to help with the transition made all the difference to be able to give him the best chance of release.

Fast forward a couple of weeks and we received another Pukeko with an injured leg for rehab from Zena's South Canterbury Bird Rescue - Located in Timaru, and everyone ended up just slotting together into their new family group amazingly.

Just over a month later we were able to soft release them to a secluded spot over the back of our farm, all together, as a family group, and they've never looked back ❤️

Unfortunately Facebook won't play the game for me at the moment and isn't allowing me to post the video of the release, so I will try and post it in the comments instead! First photo is 'Trish' the Pukeko on collection, second photo is wee Pablo in the care of Sue at DBR as a wee baby. Video (if it loads!) is of all three on their release day.

Hey everyone! 👋First off, a huge apology for the radio silence lately. If you haven't realized by now, I am officially t...
09/05/2026

Hey everyone! 👋

First off, a huge apology for the radio silence lately. If you haven't realized by now, I am officially terrible at social media 🫣 Keeping up with posting while running around after our rescues is definitely an art form I haven't quite mastered yet.

But just because it’s been quiet on your feed doesn't mean it’s been quiet at the sanctuary! Behind the scenes there's always something going on or needing done, and the animals ensure there's never a dull moment to be had.

With this change in the weather, I’ll definitely be spending a lot more time inside (and drying off!). The silver lining? I'll finally have the time to sit down and share some of the incredible stories of the animals who have come through our doors over the last month or so.

How cute is this wee face though? This Kingfisher (Kōtare) was found injured in Timaru last week and we just so happened to be heading through on our way to Christchurch, so we were able to pick him up and deliver him into Pauline's expert care at the South Island Wildlife Hospital.

Unfortunately his story didn't have the happy ending we were all hoping for, but he is now free of pain and suffering. We have had plenty of happy endings over the last wee while though, which we will share with you all in the coming days, so watch this space ❤️

🚨Found- Ringneck DoveHolmes Hill- Oamaru 08/07/26🚨Is this your wee dove? Seems to have lost its way and ended up near Be...
08/04/2026

🚨Found- Ringneck Dove
Holmes Hill- Oamaru 08/07/26🚨

Is this your wee dove? Seems to have lost its way and ended up near Beach Road and doesn't appear to belong to any direct neighbours in the area it was found.

If you believe this may be your bird please reach out, we would love to be able to reunite it with its flock!

Safely here with us in the interim ❤️

Happy World Rat Day! (Better late than never right?!)Here's our girls checking out their new bag of goodies from The NZ ...
04/04/2026

Happy World Rat Day! (Better late than never right?!)

Here's our girls checking out their new bag of goodies from The NZ Rat Rescue.

We've taken in many rescue rats over the years, and all of them have left a mark on our hearts when they've left. They make such wonderful pets, the hardest part is that they're never with us long enough 🥺 But we try and make their lives the very best they can be in the time they're here.

Contrary to popular belief these guys are very clean animals, they're highly intelligent and affectionate, which actually makes them the perfect companions for young children as well.

We know they aren't everybody's cup of tea, but we don't care for tea anyway, so we're more than happy to call them family ❤️

Earlier in the week we picked up this poor wee Kererū, our native New Zealand Wood Pigeon, which had unfortunately falle...
04/04/2026

Earlier in the week we picked up this poor wee Kererū, our native New Zealand Wood Pigeon, which had unfortunately fallen victim to window strike.

Of all the Kererū that end up at the Dunedin Wildlife Hospital, most end up there because of window strike.

These guys are a rather large bird and when they hit windows they sure do hit with a bang, sometimes even hitting with enough force to break the window. Unfortunately window strikes are becoming much more common, thought in part to be related to the increase in the double glazing of windows. Due to the increase in strength of the glass, fatalities are often more common now too unfortunately.

Kererū that are able to be rehabilitated in our area are fortunate enough to go to wonderful Nik who runs Project Kereru, giving them the absolute best chance they could have ❤️

As a way to help with preventing window strikes, you can purchase window decals directly from Project Kerurū by following this link:

https://www.projectkereru.org.nz/prevent_window_strike

They reflect UV and the birds are able to see the windows and avoid them.

While some may see 'just' a pigeon, these guys are actually our most important seed dispersers!

Since the extinction of the Moa, the Kererū and Parea (Chatham Island Pigeon) are now the only bird species that are big enough to swallow large fruit, such as those of Karaka, Miro, Tawa and Taraire, and disperse the seed over long distances. The disappearance of these birds could be a disaster for the regeneration of our native forests.

If you are considering planting trees to feed the Kererū in your own backyard, Tree Lucerne is useful in the short-term as it flowers prolifically in winter, has nutritious leaves, and grows quickly. Miro, Titoki, Tawa, Fuchsia, Kōwhai, Five-finger, Pate, Pigeonwood, Taraire, Puriri and Wineberry are great long term choices to entice Kerurū also.

If you do come across a Kerurū or any other bird which has fallen victim to window strike, please gently pick the bird up and place inside a dark, ventilated cardboard box somewhere quiet away from children and other animals and get in touch with DOC (if native) and/or your nearest wildlife rehabilitator.

Wishing you all a great long weekend ❤️

Can you help these boys find their forever home?These guys are owned by a lovely neighbour in our community, they are ru...
01/04/2026

Can you help these boys find their forever home?

These guys are owned by a lovely neighbour in our community, they are runner ducks that hatched in October but unfortunately there's just too many boys!

They are free to a loving home, as pets only.

Please get in touch if you can offer any of these dudes a lovely home ❤️

We had a very special (and endangered) guest have a sleepover with us over night, a wee Huttons Shearwater also known as...
29/03/2026

We had a very special (and endangered) guest have a sleepover with us over night, a wee Huttons Shearwater also known as Kaikōura Tītī.

These are the only seabirds in the world to nest in alpine areas, with the only two remaining breeding colonies being located in the Seaward Kaikōura Range.

Artificial light attraction and disorientation leads to the crash landings of many Hutton’s shearwater chicks that are making their maiden flight from their mountain colonies to the sea during the peak fledging season, from early March to early April. Unfortunately the brightly lit township of Kaikōura lies directly in their flight path. Crash landings result in birds becoming grounded around Kaikōura and not being able to take-off again. Crash landings result in death by injury, starvation, dehydration and predation.

Thankfully there is a wonderful community of volunteers in Kaikōura that look out for these birds, even having a dedicated Hutton's Shearwater Trust ❤️

Unfortunately this wee one ended up grounded in Timaru, a wee way away from home.Thanks to Zena and a local ranger from the Department Of Conservation, it was transferred into our care yesterday. Today we made the journey down to Dunedin to drop it off into the hands of the amazing team at Dunedin Wildlife Hospital.

Wishing this little one all the best for what is hopefully a speedy recovery ❤️

Earlier this month we welcomed these lovely rescue girls into our flock ❤️They came from Liv at Chicken Rehab & Rehomin...
25/03/2026

Earlier this month we welcomed these lovely rescue girls into our flock ❤️

They came from Liv at Chicken Rehab & Rehoming ChCh , who made a special trip down to deliver a number of ladies at numerous stops along the way before turning around and heading all the way back to Christchurch.

Liv does an absolutely amazing job going above and beyond to help chickens find forever homes, it's truly a credit to her. If you're interested in welcoming some ladies into your own flock, head over to her page and give her a follow, that way you'll see updates when shes planning trips in the future
(When fuel is hopefully less than the price of your first born 😅)

Red shavers make absolutely lovely pet chickens, as well as being great layers they also have a docile nature and are very chilled out chickens, making them a great addition to the family 🥰

13/03/2026

This mother muscovy and her babies have been finding their feet with us, after someone had unfortunately clearly dumped them near a waterway off State Highway 1 near Timaru.

After nearly being wiped out by traffic on multiple occasions, Zena from South Canterbury Bird Rescue was thankfully able to catch and contain them, and we then made the trip up to bring them back home to keep them safe and look after them until we could find an amazing home for them.

Yesterday, we made a trip up to Maungati to deliver them to their new home 🥹❤️

Please don't dump domestic animals. There are people and organizations out there that are willing to help.

Address

Herbert
9495

Telephone

+64274338131

Website

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