WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — It's noisy, smelly, shy — and New Zealand’s bird of the year.
Associated PressNEW ZEALAND BIRD OF THE YEAR — A hoiho or yellow-eyed penguin pictured on April 2, 2023, has won New Zealand's annual Bird of the Year vote, on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. The hoiho, or yellow-eyed penguin, won the country’s fiercely fought avian election on Monday, offering hope to supporters of the endangered bird that recognition from its victory might prompt a revival of the species.
This year, the number of votes cast represented 10 percent of the population of New Zealand — a country where nature is never far away and where a love of native birds is instilled in citizens from childhood. “This spotlight couldn’t have come at a better time. This iconic penguin is disappearing from mainland Aotearoa before our eyes,” Nicola Toki, chief executive of Forest & Bird — the organization that runs the poll — said in a press release, using the Māori name for New Zealand. Despite intensive conservation efforts on land, she said, the birds drown in nets and sea and can't find enough food.
“I do feel like we were the scrappy underdog,” said Emily Bull, a spokesperson for the runner-up campaign, for the karure — a small, “goth” black robin only found on New Zealand’s Chatham Island.
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