An endangered yellow-eyed penguin called hoiho has won New Zealand's coveted Bird of the Year competition after two weeks of intense campaigning.
The hoiho, which only has 225 pairs left on New Zealand's mainland, became the first penguin to win the annual contest in its 14-year run. The anti-social bird, which communicates with a high-pitched scream, defeated more than five rivals and garnered 12,022 out of the 43,460 votes cast and verified.
According to Forest & Bird, the conservation group that runs the poll, the hoiho's victory was a "huge upset" after it won over the kakapo and the 2018 winner, the kereru. Megan Hubscher, a spokeswoman for the group, said: "It was so close between these amazing endangered birds, it was impossible to predict a winner for most of the competition."
Hubscher added that the penguin's bid attracted support from two mayors during a campaign period characterized by "memes and trash-talk".
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern acknowledged the penguin's victory at her weekly press conference, saying: "I feel inclined to congratulate the winner given it's the first seabird that's taken out top honors." The prime minister expressed hope that the hoiho's win could pave the way for "a future win for the black petrel", another seabird she has given "long-standing commitment and support for".
There were no irregularities reported in this year's voting, compared to fixing scandals that tainted previous polls. The previous Bird of the Year winners include the kea, a species of large parrot, in 2017 and the kereru, a type of wood pigeon, in 2018.
Hubscher said: "Bird of the Year has become a national passion, and that's thanks to everyone relentlessly and ruthlessly promoting their favorite bird's weirdest qualities to the globe."
The hoiho is a tall, portly penguin with a pale yellow band of feathers on its head and stands around 65 centimeters tall and weighs around 5 kilograms. Experts say that these penguins are at risk of becoming extinct as it has numerous threats, including warming oceans leading to changes in food availability, bottom trawling damaging feeding grounds, being caught in fishing nets, and disturbance from humans.
