Yellow-eyed penguin
The yellow-eyed penguin (Megadyptes antipodes), known also as hoiho, is a species of penguin endemic to New Zealand.
| Yellow-eyed penguin | |
|---|---|
| At Curio Bay, Southland District, New Zealand | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Sphenisciformes |
| Family: | Spheniscidae |
| Genus: | Megadyptes |
| Species: | M. antipodes |
| Binomial name | |
| Megadyptes antipodes | |
| Subspecies | |
|
Megadyptes antipodes antipodes | |
| Distribution of yellow-eyed penguin | |
Previously thought closely related to the little penguin (Eudyptula minor), molecular research has shown it more closely related to penguins of the genus Eudyptes. Like most penguins, it is mainly piscivorous.
The species breeds along the eastern and south-eastern coastlines of the South Island of New Zealand, as well as Stewart Island, Auckland Islands, and Campbell Islands. Colonies on the Otago Peninsula are a popular tourist venue, where visitors may closely observe penguins from hides, trenches, or tunnels.
On the New Zealand mainland, the species has experienced a significant decline over the past 20 years. On the Otago Peninsula, numbers have dropped by 75% since the mid-1990s and population trends indicate the possibility of local extinction in the next 20 to 40 years. While the effect of rising ocean temperatures is still being studied, an infectious outbreak in the mid-2000s played a large role in the drop. Human activities at sea (fisheries, pollution) may have an equal if not greater influence on the species' downward trend.