This pair of yellow-eyed penguins was seen at their nesting site on the Otago Peninsula. The species is threatened by pressure to expand grazing lands and other forms of coastal development. The species population is strictly limited by availabiltiy of its terrestrial (breeding) habitat.
For the Field Guide group. I originally used this shot in a diptych www.flickr.com/photos/anitagould/378791604/ , the pose being perfect, but it was one of my 2 best shots of the bird and showed the yellow underwing (underflipper?) of this underrepresented endangered species, so I wanted to add it to the Field Guide group. Apparently the diptych didn't pass muster there (which is fine; just wish I'd had a response to my note when the photo was axed so I would have known to upload a plain version). So here it is by itself, cropped a little more.
There is a small population of these that come ashore for the night at this site. This one passed ~15 meters from us. The DOC warden watching over them said that the species is normally extremely wary, but they have become accustomed to people watching quietly from the trail at this site.
The Yellow-eyed Penguin (Megadyptes antipodes) or Hoiho is a penguin native to New Zealand. 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 other penguins, it is mainly piscivorous.
