Rare Yellow-Eyed Penguin Wins New Zealand’s Bird of the Year Contest

A shy and rare penguin has been crowned the winner of New Zealand’s Bird of the Year contest, raising awareness about its conservation needs amid threats from invasive species and diseases.

After last year’s controversial result—in which comedian John Oliver spearheaded a campaign to crown the pūteketeke as champion—this year’s contest was comparatively drama-free. Voters selected the yellow-eyed penguin, or hoiho, with 6,328 votes.

Organized by New Zealand’s conservation group Forest and Bird, the annual Bird of the Year election was created to raise awareness for the country’s native birds, of which about 80 percent are endangered. And conservationists say the hoiho is especially vulnerable.

“This spotlight couldn’t have come at a better time,” says Nicola Toki, chief executive of Forest and Bird, in a statement. “This iconic penguin is disappearing from mainland Aotearoa [New Zealand] before our eyes.”

The hoiho, whose name means “noise shouter” in Māori, is unique to New Zealand and is one of the world’s rarest penguins. Less social than other penguins, the shy hoiho tends to nest in more secluded areas. This year marks the bird’s second time on the podium after its victory in 2019, which made it the first seabird to win the contest.

With 5,442 votes, the karure, a small black robin found only on New Zealand’s Chatham Islands, came in second. And the kākāpō, a large, nocturnal, flightless parrot, came in third, with 4,548 votes.

“I do feel like we were the scrappy underdog,” says Emily Bull, a spokesperson for the runner-up karure campaign, to the Associated Press’ Charlotte Graham-McLay.

In all, the contest garnered more than 50,000 votes—but participation fell far short of the record-breaking 350,000 ballots cast last year, after Oliver’s self-described “alarmingly aggressive” worldwide campaign. The comedian commissioned billboards in cities around the world, flew a plane with a pūteketeke banner over Rio de Janeiro and dressed up as the bird on the “Tonight Show.”

But with more local endorsements, this year’s contest “had more of a homegrown feel,” according to New Zealand’s Morning Report. The hoiho’s campaign was led by a rugby team, a brewery, the Tūhura Otago Museum and many other locals from Ōtepoti Dunedin, a city in South Island, New Zealand. The bird also received some high-profile endorsements, including from English conservationist Jane Goodall and former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark.

The hoiho lives on New Zealand’s South and Stewart islands, as well as on subantarctic islands south of the country. But the numbers are worrying: The penguin’s population has dropped by 78 percent in the last 15 years, with only 163 pairs of hoiho left on the mainland. And in the last year alone, its population has dropped by 18 percent.

“Hoiho are on the decline due to human impact and climate change, I know that food stores are becoming harder to find for them and they have to go further out to find food due to overfishing,” Charlie Buchan, Tūhura Otago Museum marketing manager, tells Morning Report.

They also face multiple threats including dog attacks, diseases and invasive species that “can wipe out an entire breeding site in a single season,” Toki says in the statement.

Despite the known threats on the mainland, not much is known about how the penguin’s subantarctic population is faring. “The campaign has raised awareness, but what we really hope is that it brings tangible support,” says Buchan in the statement.

For now, though, the shy hoiho wears the coveted crown and its win sparks a glimmer of hope among New Zealand locals.

Alexa Robles-Gil | | READ MORE

Alexa Robles-Gil is a bilingual science journalist based in New York City. Her work has appeared in the Guardian, Undark, Inside Climate News and more.