Q & A

Question	Answer
We are students doing a project on the Hoiho. Our vision is to educate people on why the Hoiho is becoming extinct and how we can help to fix this problem. If you could help us or give us information, it would be greatly appreciated.	The information is all on this website. A good place to start would be the pages on Threats, Predators and Problems and How You Can Help.
What is causing the yellow eyed penguin population to decrease?	Take a look at the Threats, Predators and Problems section of the website.
What predator is the biggest threat to the yellow eyed penguin?	Humans.
Where are the yellow eyed penguins most densely populated?	In the subantarctic. The five island groups that make up the subantarctic islands which are World Heritage Sites are located in the Southern Ocean south to south-east of New Zealand. See lots more information from YEPT, DOCand the Goltras.
Why send our barcodes to Fonterra? What do they do with them?	A very perceptive question. The returning barcodes are a direct indication to Fonterra of the support being shown for the work of the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust and how the link with the Trust is working to help sell their cheese and butter.The actual bar codes are counted and then the total figures given to the Mainland Brand marketing people, who then feed the information into the appropriate channels within the organisation. The association with Mainland is one of the longest in New Zealand between a large corporate and a conservation organisation.
Why do these penguins have yellow eyes?	John Darby replies “ …the colour of the eye is a continuation of the colour band around the head.  It is interesting to note that for the first year of their lives, yellow-eyed penguins do not have yellow eyes, (they are grey) and neither do they have a yellow band around their head.  ….The colour yellow of the eye and feathers is caused by a chemical called carotene which is also high in vitamin A.  On a daily basis, it is the pigment that gives the colour to things like carrots and tomatoes, but it is also found in small quantities in small sea creatures.  A student at the University of Otago recently studied the importance of the yellow eye and feather colour in yellow-eyeds and found that those birds that had deeper yellow colour tended to rear more chicks than those that were very pale, which suggest that these birds were better at catching food than those with pale eyes…”
Hello Yellow Eyed Penguin Trust, We are year 6 students doing an inquiry on the Hoiho.  And we have a question to ask you. Since Hoiho live in bush areas why do you use nest boxes?	The penguins like to nest in dense vegetation to avoid heat stress. The forested coastal habitat where they nest and breed is coming under increasing pressure from development, therefore the penguins are forced to nest in more open areas. There they are vulnerable to predation by introduced predators such as ferrets, stoats, and domestic dogs and cats. A nest box gives them protection from the sun.
You’re saving the Hoiho but how can we help save the Hoiho?	Check out the How You Can Help pages on this website.
Is it true that the Hoiho is the rarest bird in the world?	The Hoiho is endangered but there are rarer birds in New Zealand.  For example  the kakapo is one of the rarest birds in the world . For more information see: International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.
What special features does the Hoiho have that other animals don’t have?	Take a look at the Adaptations section of this website. You will find all the differences there.
How long does it take for a Hoiho egg to be incubated and hatch?  Thank you for your time.	Usually two eggs are laid and after incubation of 40 or 50 days, with the adults taking tuns looking after them, two chicks are reared.
How are penguins able to regurgitate food for their young so long after having eaten it?	Penguins keep the freshly caught fish/krill in their stomach where they have special enzymes that inhibit bacterial development even though the fish is at body temperature. They can actually keep it for several days before being regurgitated.Others partially digest it and then regurgitate it for their chicks.