Help rescue the Yellow-eyed Penguin

Ezibed is proud to support the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust.

The Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust Te Tautiaki Hoiho, New Zealand’s first single-species conservation trust, is a leading authority on yellow-eyed penguins | hoiho and their conservation.

In 1990 the mainland population had declined to 150 breeding pairs. The Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust assisted in the arrest of this decline to produce numbers fluctuating between 400-600 breeding pairs. Alarmingly, in recent years numbers have again fallen to 230 breeding pairs. Recovery is being negatively impacted by unpredictable mortality events and diseases affecting adults and offspring alike. The Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust are committed to discovering the causes of these set-backs and now employ a Conservation Science Advisor to provide technical advice and research evidence to inform about species management, identifying gaps in the current scientific knowledge and leading research on marine issues affecting yellow-eyed penguin productivity. The Trust has taken the lead in the birds’ recovery through direct intervention and helping others to intervene.

Their principal focus is to attend to the ecological needs of the penguins. This involves nurturing the natural systems which sustain the birds ashore and at sea. They have also raised the penguin to national prominence as a sentinel species for New Zealand conservation, and their conservation strategy is aligned closely with the Department of Conservation’s recovery plan for yellow-eyed penguins. The Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust are minimizing mortality associated with introduced mammalian predators and recreating high quality breeding habitats, using thousands of plants grown in the Trust’s own nursery. In May 2016, jointly with Department of Conservation and Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, they completed a report on yellow-eyed penguin status and associated conservation effort Yellow-eyed Penguin Stock-take Report.

Volunteers from far and wide contribute side-by-side with Trust staff to make things happen on the ground. Volunteers are drawn from right across our communities, as individuals and as groups such as training corps, local environmental groups, schools, small and large businesses, local government and disadvantaged youth programmes. The Trust works to benefit local communities through what they do. Their projects are more than just opportunities to participate in conservation. Restoring local wildlife and natural landscapes is also intended to improve social and economic wellbeing through a heightened sense of identity and place.

Since 1989, the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust have been sponsored by Mainland (now owned by Fonterra Brands NZ Ltd) an achievement celebrated by fundraisers as the longest-standing cause-related sponsorship in the southern hemisphere.

You can help too, and it doesn't cost you anything extra. Simply book your stay with ezibed to help raise funds for the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust. Your support will help rescue hoiho for future generations to enjoy.

Penguins. Plants. People. Passion.