Standing on the crest of a hill, bathed in golden rays, a yellow-eyed penguin searched for their mate, and called – loudly. Hence their te reo Māori name ‘Hoiho’, which means ‘noise shouter’. Yellow-eyed penguins are endemic to New Zealand, and are considered to be the rarest penguin in the world, with a total of about 166 breeding pairs on mainland New Zealand, as of 2021. They are monogamous; however, they mate for success, rather than life. Every August, breeding pairs reunite, or new pairs establish and in late September, two eggs are laid. The incubation period is between 39 – 51 days and in November/December, the chicks hatch. Most of the chicks on mainland New Zealand are admitted to the Dunedin Wildlife Hospital to be cared for and to prevent them from succumbing to disease: Diphtheria and Avian Malaria, and starvation. About tens days later, the chicks are returned to their parent’s nest and the decoy egg is retrieved. Between February – April, the chicks fledge.
Photo: Yellow-eyed penguin adult by Sian Mair. Taken from a safe distance and zoomed in on.