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Yellow-eyed Penguin |
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How can we help Hoiho?
Fortunately for the Hoiho, there's been a concerted effort by people to help preserve the penguins. Flax bushes have been planted for the birds to nest in, fencing put up to prevent cattle eating the plants and predators have been trapped.
Today there are more Hoiho breeding on the Otago Peninsula than there have been for 40 years. It's a wonderful experience, if you're on one of the beaches at evening time, to see the little yellow eyes bobbing in the water and hear from behind a sand dune the distinctive call of "Hoi-ho"! |
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Yellow-eyed Penguins |
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What makes yellow-eyed penguins special?
Penguins are thought of as the most human-like of all birds, waddling around and waving their flippers, full of character! Unlike humans though, penguins are very well adapted for life at sea, with streamlined bodies for torpedo speed and flat, overlapping feathers designed to keep them dry.
There are 18 different species of penguin in the world and all of these live in the Southern Hemisphere. The world's rarest is the yellow-eyed penguin. Standing about 65-68cm tall and weighing 5-8kg they get their name from the adult's yellow eye and yellow stripe of feathers around their head. Yellow-eyed penguins are also called 'Hoiho', their Maori name, which sounds like one of the calls of the adult.
Where do they live?
Hoiho are very special to Otago Museum because, although they live on small islands south of New Zealand, the largest mainland colony of this wonderful bird is on Otago Peninsula, just a few kilometres from Dunedin City.
Even though people and penguins live almost side by side, these birds are pretty shy and instead of nesting in huge colonies like other penguins do (which keep them warm in the Antarctic), Hoiho pairs build nests that hide them away, even from neighbouring penguins!
Their thick fat layer keeps them warm in the water but often makes them overheat on land. So they need the shelter of trees and bushes to keep cool, as well as to hide.
How do they live?
Hoiho can live for up to 20 years and spend most of the day at sea, feeding on fish and squid. They're amazing underwater and can dive down to 120 metres deep, holding their breath for up to four minutes! During their breeding season, the penguins come ashore every evening and waddle up the beach to their nest site as far as one kilometre inland! There they'll tend to their eggs and chicks, of which there are usually only two per year.
What threatens Hoiho?
Hoiho had been living along the southeast coast of New Zealand long before people arrived and are well adapted to escape from predators in the sea such as seals and sharks because they can swim swiftly.
However, these penguins are clumsy walkers on land and are unable to escape from introduced land predators like cats, dogs, ferrets and rats. Also, farming and coastal deforestation is reducing the shelter the penguins need for nesting. At one point, the significant reduction in population numbers meant Hoiho almost became endangered. |
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