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Photo: Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust
A disease expert is warning malaria could be wipe out hoiho/yellow eyed penguins from the Otago mainland in ten years.
Disease propelled by virus, fungi and parasites can lead to extinction. However as a threat to birds, disease doesn't exist in a bubble.
Habitat loss and predators are part of the bigger picture: necessitating what's called "conservation medicine".
Vets, human-disease experts and volunteers around the country are joining forces to help keep our native birds healthy.
Lynn Freeman speaks with University of Otago associate professor Bruce Russell who's looking into controlling malaria in mainland hoiho, and director of Massey University's Wildbase wildlife hospital and research centre, avian veterinarian Brett Gartrell, whose team is developing a vaccine against avian pox for the tūturuatu/shore plover.