The yellow-eyed penguin is one of the few penguin species found north
of the Antarctic Ocean, and as it's name suggests, this species of
penguin is easily idenitfied by it's yellow coloured eyes and bright
yellow band that runs from it's eyes round the back of the yellow-eyed
penguin's head. The yellow-eyed penguin is found off the coast of
the south island of New Zealand where this species gathers in colonies
along the beaches and boulder fields. The yellow-eyed penguin is also
found on a few of the islands of the main island including Stewart,
Auckland and the Campbell Islands.
The yellow-eyed penguin
generally searches for food up 10 miles offshore, and travels (on
average) around 15 miles away from the colonies nesting site. The
yellow-eyed penguin leaves the colony at dawn and returns the same
evening during chick rearing, although may spend 2 or 3 days at sea at
other times. The yellow-eyed penguin is one of the larger species of penguin with
adult individuals reaching 75cm in height, with the males generally
being slightly larger than the female yellow-eyed penguins.
The yellow-eyed penguin is a carnivorous animal, that like all other penguin species, survives on a diet that is only comprised of marine animals.
Krill and small crustaceans make up the bulk of the yellow-eyed
penguin's diet along with larger organisms including squid and various
species of fish. The yellow-eyed penguin is usually found nesting in the
forests and scrub that line the New Zealand coast and although
historically undisturbed, the yellow-eyed penguin now has a number of
land-dwelling predators including cats, dogs and foxes along with rats
and weasels that hunt their eggs.
On average, the yellow-eyed penguin breeds
once a year, forming pairs that usually remain faithful to one another.
The female yellow-eyed penguin lays two eggs in her nest in the forest
which are incubated by both parents for up to a couple of months, when
only one of the eggs will usually hatch. The yellow-eyed penguin chicks
are fed and kept warm by their parents and remain with them until the
chicks are nearly a year old. Today, the yellow-eyed penguin listed as
an endangered animal with an estimated wild population of less
than 4,000 individuals. Source
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