Story: Conservation – a history

Heaphy’s dog attacking penguins

While exploring the West Coast in the 1860s, Charles Heaphy sketched his dog attacking penguins at Cape Foulwind, near Westport. Today, dogs are one of the most destructive predators at penguin colonies.

Using this item

Auckland War Memorial Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira

Reference: PD 56 (85)

by Charles Heaphy

Permission of the Auckland War Memorial Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page

Simon Nathan, Conservation – a history – The need for conservation, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/13897/heaphys-dog-attacking-penguins (accessed 10 June 2026).

Story by Simon Nathan, published 2 March 2009, updated 1 August 2015.