Shy penguin wins New Zealand’s bird election after campaign filled with memes

The hoiho, or yellow-eyed penguin, has won New Zealand’s fiercely fought avian election, offering hope to supporters of the endangered bird that recognition from its victory might prompt a revival of the species.

It followed a campaign for the annual Bird of the Year vote that was without the foreign interference scandals and cheating controversies of past polls.

Instead, campaigners in the long-running contest sought votes in the usual ways – launching meme wars, seeking celebrity endorsements and even getting tattoos to prove their loyalty.

This year, the number of votes cast represented 1% of the population of New Zealand – a country where nature is never far away and where a love of native birds is instilled in citizens from childhood.

“Birds are our heart and soul,” said Emma Rawson, who campaigned for the fourth-placed ruru, a small brown owl with a melancholic call.

New Zealand’s only native mammals are bats and marine species, putting the spotlight on its birds, which are beloved – and often rare.

This year’s victor, the hoiho – its name means “noise shouter” in the Maori language – is a shy bird thought to be the world’s rarest penguin.

Only found on New Zealand’s South and Chatham islands – and on subantarctic islands south of the country – numbers have dropped perilously by 78% in the past 15 years.

“This spotlight couldn’t have come at a better time. This iconic penguin is disappearing from mainland Aotearoa before our eyes,” Nicola Toki, chief executive of Forest & Bird – the organisation that runs the poll – said in a press release, using the Maori name for New Zealand.

Despite intensive conservation efforts on land, she said, the birds drown in nets and sea and cannot find enough food.

But while the bird is struggling, it attracted a star billing in the poll: celebrity endorsements flew in from English zoologist Jane Goodall, host of the Amazing Race Phil Keoghan, and two former New Zealand prime ministers.

Aspiring bird campaign managers – this year ranging from power companies to high school students – submit applications to Forest & Bird for the posts.

The hoiho bid was run by a collective of wildlife groups, a museum, a brewery and a rugby team in the city of Dunedin, where the bird is found on mainland New Zealand, making it the highest-powered campaign of the 2024 vote.

“I do feel like we were the scrappy underdog,” said Emily Bull, a spokesperson for the runner-up campaign, for the karure – a small, “goth” black robin only found on New Zealand’s Chatham Island.

The karure’s bid was directed by the students’ association at Victoria University of Wellington, prompting a fierce skirmish on the college campus when the student magazine staged an opposing campaign for the korora, or little blue penguin.

The rivalry provoked a meme war and students in bird costumes.

When the magazine’s campaign secured endorsements of the city council and local zoo, Ms Bull despaired for the black robin’s bid.

But the karure – which has performed a real-life comeback since the 1980s, with conservation efforts increasing the species from five birds to 250 – took second place overall.

This weekend as Ms Rawson wrapped up her campaign for the ruru, she took her efforts directly to the people, courting votes at a local dog park.

The veteran campaign manager, who has directed the bids for other birds in past years, was rewarded by the ruru placing fourth in the poll, her best ever result.

“I have not been in human political campaigning before,” said Ms Rawson, who is drawn to the competition because of the funds and awareness it generates.

The campaign struck a more sedate tone this year, she added.

“There’s been no international interference, even though that was actually a lot of fun,” she said, referring to Oliver’s high-profile campaign.

While anyone in the world can vote, Forest & Bird now requires electors to verify their ballots after foreign interference plagued the contest before.

In 2018, Australian pranksters cast hundreds of fraudulent votes in favour of the shag.

The following year, Forest & Bird was forced to clarify that a flurry of votes from Russia appeared to be from legitimate bird-lovers.

While campaigns are fiercely competitive, managers described tactics more akin to pro wrestling – in which fights are scripted – than divisive political contests.

“Sometimes people want to make posts that are kind of like beefy with you and they’ll always message you and be like, hey, is it OK if I post this?” Ms Bull said.

“There is a really sweet community. It’s really wholesome.”