Antarctic penguins would be close to extinction, according to scientists 2:16
(CNN) --
The bodies of hundreds of blue penguins have washed up on New Zealand's north coast beaches in recent weeks, according to conservationists, who fear climate change is starving the penguins to death.
Kororā, also known as little blue penguins, are native to New Zealand but are "at risk" of decline, according to the country's Department of Conservation.
They face the threat of dogs and ferrets, but are also likely to be killed on highways and in coastal housing estates.
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Conservationists have been trying to figure out why penguins are dying in droves since early May, when residents first spotted the dead birds on beaches.
Graeme Taylor, a senior scientific adviser studying seabirds at the New Zealand Department of Conservation, said early lab results suggest that between 200 and 500 of the birds have died from malnutrition.
"The cause of death appears to be that they have not found enough food in the sea and have starved to death," Taylor told CNN.
A marine heat wave in the country's northern waters, coupled with the natural conditions of the La Niña weather cycle, have made it difficult for little blue penguins to find food, Taylor said.
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These small, noisy birds with pale blue or indigo feathers often eat anchovies and sardines, diving to depths of up to 30 meters to capture their prey.
But rising water temperatures cause small fish to drift into cooler waters, too deep for birds to reach, Taylor said.
Initial results from a necropsy study by the Ministry of Primary Industries showed that the birds had lost their abdominal fat pad and were therefore in poor health before reaching shore.
New Zealand experienced the warmest year in its history in 2021, with annual temperatures between 0.5 and 1.2 degrees Celsius above normal, according to the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research.
The waters surrounding the country "have been pulsating up to 3C recently," New Zealand Climate Change Research Institute deputy principal investigator Nathanael Melia told CNN affiliate Radio New Zealand in January.
La Niña is a regular oceanic and atmospheric phenomenon that refers to the periodic cooling of ocean temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific.
The current phase of the cycle is bringing warmer water north of New Zealand, making it harder for blue penguins to access food, according to Taylor.
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The yellow-eyed penguin, known as “hoiho”, which means “screamer” in Maori, is one of the most endangered penguin species in the world.
These rare birds are under increasing pressure from predators, climate change and disease, but New Zealand conservationists are desperately trying to save them.
Check out the gallery to find out more about the hoiho.
Credit: imageBROKER/Gerhard Zwerger-Schoner/Getty Images
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The hoiho, the only solitary species of penguin in the world, is only found on the South Island of New Zealand and its subantarctic islands.
It is estimated that only 3,000 mature specimens remain in the wild.
On the New Zealand mainland, the colony numbered just 265 breeding pairs in 2019. Credit: Martin Pelane/photrip.cz/Adobe Stock
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Yellow-eyed penguins are excellent swimmers: they can swim up to 60 kilometers in search of small fish such as sprat, charal and blue cod.
They can dive to depths of 150 meters below the surface, although they tend to stay in shallower waters and closer to shore during the breeding season, when they have to return frequently to feed their young.
Credit: Aumphotography/Moment RF/Getty Images
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Lately, the hoiho has been facing increased challenges due to climate change.
Fluctuating sea temperatures have altered their food distribution, and rising temperatures on land leave them stressed and overheated.
Overfishing has also affected the availability of the fish they eat, with penguins even ending up in fishing nets as bycatch.
Credit: vladislav333222/Adobe Stock
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Disease is another problem for hoiho, and chicks are especially vulnerable to diseases such as avian diphtheria.
Hoihos lay two eggs each breeding season, but only breed both if it is a good year with plenty of food.
Currently, less than 20% of the chicks survive to maturity.
But conservationists hope their interventions can change things.
Credit: Kevin Schafer/Danita Delimont/Adobe Stock
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At Penguin Place on New Zealand's Otago Peninsula, conservationists help sick and hungry birds get back on their feet.
Hoiho make up 98% of the birds that pass through, says Jason van Zanten, director of conservation for Penguin Place.
Credit: Ben Foley/CNN
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Penguin Place was founded in 1985, when local farmer Howard McGrouther fenced off some 150 acres of his land to create a private wildlife reserve (pictured).
Once the penguins are well fed and have recovered from starvation and disease, they are released back into the reserve where they can safely breed and nest.
Credit: Ben Foley/CNN
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According to van Zanten, Hoiho usually stay in the rehabilitation center for about two weeks.
The birds live in small enclosures adorned with rocks, blocks of wood, and shelters for them to hide and play in, and are fed small fish twice a day to fatten them up before being released into the wild.
Credit: Ben Foley/CNN
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Hoiho have many predators in the wild, such as dogs, stoats, and foxes on land, and sharks, barracuda, and sea lions in the ocean.
If the Hoiho arrive at Penguin Place seriously injured, they are sent to Dunedin's The Wildlife Hospital, where wildlife veterinarian Lisa Argilla and her team treat the Hoiho, as well as other birds and wildlife.
Credit: Ben Foley/CNN
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Penguin Place was funded entirely by tourism until the Covid-19 pandemic, when it had to close to the public and received government funding through the department of conservation, says van Zanten.
Now reopened, its visitors use a network of hand-dug, camouflaged tunnels (pictured) so tourists can see the hoiho in their natural habitat without disturbing them.
Credit: Ben Foley/CNN
It's not a new problem in New Zealand, but it's getting worse
Dave Houston, an ecologist with the Department of Conservation, says this is not the first time birds have died in large numbers.
“In the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, mass bird die-offs reached 5,000,” explains Houston. “Compared to previous events, this is relatively small.”
So far, penguin deaths have been reported in the country's North Island, where cases have occurred in the past, and none have been reported in the South Island.
Patients at this rehab center aren't human, they're penguins
Although Houston said the phenomenon is part of a natural cycle, he admitted that climate change has exacerbated its negative effects.
“We know that [blue penguins] can survive in warmer waters, but it has made life difficult for them,” he said.
Bruce McKinley, president of Birds New Zealand, said climate change and pollution could make things worse in the future.
"The event itself is natural and has happened before, it could be changing in pattern or intensity due to warming of the oceans from human-induced climate change. But we don't know," McKinley said.
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