The yellow-eyed penguin (Megadyptes antipodes), also called hoiho, is a type of penguin that lives only in New Zealand. It is the only living species in the genus Megadyptes, named from the Ancient Greek words mégas ("large") and dúptes ("diver").

Earlier, scientists believed this penguin was closely related to the little penguin (Eudyptula minor). However, recent research using molecules has shown it is more closely related to penguins in the genus Eudyptes. Like most penguins, it eats mainly fish.

This species builds nests along the eastern and southeastern coasts of the South Island of New Zealand, as well as on Stewart Island, Auckland Islands, and Campbell Islands. Penguin colonies on the Otago Peninsula are a popular place for tourists to watch the birds from special hiding places, trenches, or tunnels.

On the New Zealand mainland, the number of yellow-eyed penguins has dropped greatly in the last 20 years. On the Otago Peninsula, their population has decreased by 75% since the mid-1990s. Trends suggest they may disappear from the peninsula in the next 20 to 40 years. While scientists are still studying the effects of rising ocean temperatures, an infectious disease outbreak in the mid-2000s greatly contributed to the decline. Human activities at sea, such as fishing and pollution, may also have a major impact on the species’ survival.

Taxonomy

The yellow-eyed penguin was first described by Jacques Bernard Hombron and Honoré Jacquinot in 1841. It is the only species in the genus Megadyptes, though scientists have identified several subspecies. Earlier studies suggested it was closely related to the little penguin, but genetic research using DNA has shown it is more closely related to penguins in the genus Eudyptes. Evidence from mitochondrial and nuclear DNA suggests the yellow-eyed penguin split from Eudyptes ancestors about 15 million years ago. In 2019, scientists published the full genome of the yellow-eyed penguin as part of the Penguin Genome Consortium. This research aimed to learn more about the penguin’s history and support conservation efforts, such as future breeding programs.

The hoiho, or yellow-eyed penguin (M. a. antipodes), is the only surviving subspecies. These penguins were once most common on the subantarctic Auckland and Campbell Islands. After the extinction of the Waitaha penguin, they moved to Stewart Island and parts of the South Island. Scientists are considering splitting the yellow-eyed penguin into three subspecies based on genetic differences. A study of 249 penguins from New Zealand and the subantarctic Enderby and Campbell Islands found clear genetic differences between groups. These groups had little to no interbreeding, supporting the idea of three distinct subspecies. Comparing their DNA with that of two extinct subspecies showed the three groups separated between 5,000 and 16,000 years ago.

The Waitaha penguin (M. a. waitaha) was an extinct subspecies that lived in the North and South Islands, Stewart Island, and Codfish Island. It was last recorded between the years 1347 and 1529. Scientists identified it by comparing foot bones from 500-year-old, 100-year-old, and modern penguin specimens. Researchers found that Waitaha penguins were about 10% smaller than yellow-eyed penguins. They are closely related but may not have had a yellow crown. The subspecies was named after the Māori tribe Waitaha, whose lands overlapped with its habitat. Studies suggest that yellow-eyed penguins on mainland New Zealand arrived from the subantarctic islands and replaced the extinct Waitaha penguin. Early Polynesian settlers likely hunted the Waitaha penguin, and their extinction may have been caused by hunting and the presence of Polynesian rats and dogs. The subspecies was first named as a separate species in 2009 but was later classified as a subspecies in 2019 and 2022. After its extinction, yellow-eyed penguins moved into its former range. A decline in sea lion populations after human settlement may have helped this expansion.

Richdale’s penguin (M. a. richdalei) was an extinct subspecies that lived on the Chatham Islands. It was hunted to extinction after the 13th century.

Description

The yellow-eyed penguin (M. a. antipodes) can be easily recognized by the pale yellow feathers that form a band around its eyes and wrap around the back of its head. The forehead, crown, and sides of its face are dark grey with golden yellow spots. Its eyes are yellow. The area around its neck and the sides of its head are light brown. The back and tail are dark blue-black. The chest, stomach, thighs, and underparts of its flippers are white. Young penguins have a greyer head and no yellow band around their eyes.

This penguin is the largest living species that breeds on the mainland of New Zealand and is the fourth or fifth heaviest penguin by body weight. It stands 62–79 centimeters (24–31 inches) tall and weighs 3–8.5 kilograms (6.6–18.7 pounds). Weight changes during the year, with penguins being heaviest just before molting, when they may lose 3–4 kilograms. On average, males weigh about 5.53 kilograms (12.2 pounds), which is slightly more than females, who average about 5.13 kilograms (11.3 pounds).

Yellow-eyed penguins can live for many years, with some individuals reaching 20 years old. Males tend to live longer than females, resulting in a ratio of 2 males to 1 female around the ages of 10–12 years.

These penguins are mostly quiet. They make a high-pitched, bray-like sound at nesting and breeding areas.

Distribution and habitat

Until recently, people believed that the yellow-eyed penguin (M. a. antipodes) lived in many places and had many individuals before Polynesian settlers arrived in New Zealand. However, genetic studies later showed that this penguin species only started living on the mainland of New Zealand about 200 years ago. The yellow-eyed penguin moved from the subantarctic region to replace the native Waitaha penguin (M. a. waitaha). The Waitaha penguin became extinct between about 1300 and 1500, shortly after Polynesian settlers arrived in New Zealand. Jeremy Austin, a scientist who helped discover the Waitaha penguin, said, "Our findings show that yellow-eyed penguins on the mainland of New Zealand are not a shrinking group from a once-large population. Instead, they came from the subantarctic region recently and replaced the extinct Waitaha penguin."

A smaller subspecies of yellow-eyed penguin, M. a. richdalei, once lived on the Chatham Islands. This subspecies is now extinct. Today, yellow-eyed penguins do not breed on the Chatham Islands.

Now, yellow-eyed penguins live in two separate groups. The northern group is found along the southeast coast of the South Island of New Zealand, including Stewart Island / Rakiura and Codfish Island / Whenua Hou. This group includes four main breeding areas: Banks Peninsula, North Otago, Otago Peninsula, and the Catlins. This group is also called the mainland population. The southern group lives on the subantarctic Auckland Islands and Campbell Island / Motu Ihupuku. There is little mixing of genes between the northern and southern groups because the large ocean between the South Island and the subantarctic region, along with the subtropical convergence, acts as a natural barrier. Between 2012 and 2017, scientists recorded an average of 577 breeding pairs each year on Enderby Island in the Auckland Islands. These pairs make up 37-49% of the total number of breeding penguins for the species.

Behaviour

Scientists in New Zealand have debated whether yellow-eyed penguins live in groups or alone. Many penguin species in Antarctica nest in large, crowded groups, but yellow-eyed penguins do not nest near each other. They may travel in small groups to the shore, but then spread out to find individual nesting spots up to one kilometer inland. Because of this, experts in New Zealand use the word "habitat" instead of "colony" to describe where these penguins live.

Yellow-eyed penguins prefer to nest in quiet, thick coastal forests far from human areas. They begin to breed at three to four years old and form long-term pairs. Nest sites are chosen in August, and two eggs are usually laid in September. Both parents take turns sitting on the eggs for 39 to 51 days. During the first six weeks after hatching, one parent stays with the chicks during the day while the other goes to sea to find food. The parent at sea returns daily to feed the chicks and take turns with the other parent. After six weeks, both parents leave the nest to hunt for food. Chicks typically leave the nest in mid-February and become fully independent afterward. At that time, the chicks weigh about 5 to 6 kilograms.

Yellow-eyed penguins eat mostly fish, especially those that live near the ocean floor, such as silversides, blue cod, red cod, and opalfish. They also eat small fish like New Zealand blueback sprat, squid, and krill. Recently, scientists discovered that penguins sometimes eat juvenile fish and fish larvae that are near jellyfish, even though it seemed they were hunting jellyfish directly.

Breeding penguins make two types of trips to find food. One type happens during the day, starting at dawn and returning in the evening, with trips reaching up to 25 kilometers from their nests. The other type is shorter, lasting no more than four hours and covering up to 7 kilometers. Yellow-eyed penguins mainly search for food on the ocean floor. About 90% of their dives are to the seafloor, and their average dive depth depends on the depth of the water near their nesting areas. They can swim as deep as 240 meters below the ocean surface.

Conservation

The yellow-eyed penguin is one of the rarest penguin species in the world. It is listed on the IUCN Red List as endangered. It was first added to the list in 1988 as threatened, and the status was changed to endangered in 2000.

About one-third of the yellow-eyed penguin population lives on the mainland. Data from the Department of Conservation showed that the northern population dropped by 80% since 2008, from 739 breeding pairs to 143 in 2025. Experts believe the group may disappear within the next 20 years if the trend continues. The last breeding-age female at Sandfly Bay died in 2024 after being caught in a set net, making the site functionally extinct.

The subantarctic population, where most of the species breeds, is less studied. Monitoring from 2015 to 2017 showed that fledging success was higher than on the mainland, though chicks were smaller and lighter on average.

Yellow-eyed penguins face multiple threats. A risk assessment from November 2025 identified the biggest threats as malnutrition, predation, disease, injuries from unknown causes, and fishing.

The northern population is declining due to repeated poor breeding seasons and high adult deaths. At sea, threats include poor foraging success and being caught in fishing equipment. Chicks often die at sea, with only 20% expected to return to land to nest, and only 5% likely to breed.

Studies from the 1980s showed red cod was a key part of their diet. However, red cod populations have declined, and recent research found penguins now eat blue cod, which provides less nutrition.

Disease is a major threat, and poor nutrition makes penguins more vulnerable. A previously unknown disease killed 60% of yellow-eyed penguin chicks on the Otago Peninsula and North Otago in 2004. The disease, called diphtheritic stomatitis, was caused by infection from Corynebacterium, a type of bacteria that also causes diphtheria in humans. A similar issue affected the Stewart Island population.

In 2023, a new Gyrovirus was identified as the likely cause of a deadly respiratory illness that killed about 25% of mainland yellow-eyed penguin chicks during the 2021 hatching season. The disease had a mortality rate of over 90%, and it was estimated that 320 individuals died.

A reserve protecting more than 10% of the mainland population was created at Long Point in the Catlins in November 2007 by the Department of Conservation and the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust. The species was added to the U.S. Endangered Species Act in 2010.

Due to disease outbreaks and deaths, the Dunedin Wildlife Hospital began treating sick or underweight chicks. In 2022, the hospital successfully incubated and hatched eggs for the first time. The following year, the hospital raised 214 chicks, as it was estimated that 50 to 70% would have died without help.

In September 2025, a three-month emergency ban on set net fishing was imposed around the Otago Peninsula to protect yellow-eyed penguins. The ban was later extended by nine months. The closure expanded an existing four-nautical-mile set net ban, which protected dolphins, to eight nautical miles. The ban followed urgent calls from conservation groups as the penguins entered their breeding season. The following month, the Environmental Law Initiative (ELI) filed High Court proceedings against the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries, arguing the set net ban did not protect the species from extinction. The extension applied to waters around the Otago Peninsula, leaving areas like North Otago and Stewart Island unprotected. In February 2026, the High Court dismissed ELI’s case against the Minister. The court ruled the temporary emergency closure was lawful and emphasized the need for ministers to protect the species’ survival.

Tourism

Many areas on the mainland have viewing shelters that are easy to reach for people who want to watch birds come ashore. These include beaches near Oamaru, the Moeraki lighthouse, several beaches close to Dunedin, and the Catlins. Tourist groups on the Otago Peninsula also offer shelters to see yellow-eyed penguins. However, yellow-eyed penguins are not found in zoos because they do not breed in captivity. Studies show that humans being near their homes harms their feeding and nesting habits.

In culture

• The hoiho is shown on the back side of the New Zealand five-dollar note.
• The yellow-eyed penguin is the symbol for Dunedin City Council's recycling and waste management program.
• The yellow-eyed penguin is also in a play called Farce of the Penguins, where they talk about global warming.
• In 2019, the yellow-eyed penguin was named the Bird of the Year in New Zealand, the first time a seabird won in the competition's 14-year history. It won again in 2024.