EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Yellow-eyed Penguin juvenile (Megadyptes antipodes)
South Island, New Zealand

Explanation:   Although not apparent in this juvenile fluff-ball, this penguin species has yellow eyes ... and is aptly named the Yellow-eyed Penguin.

In this rarest of penguins, the adults attain the yellow eye.  I photographed this juvenile on South Island, New Zealand, during January when they were 7-10 weeks old.  The breeding adults were in post-chick-guarding stage, so the juveniles were stretching their short legs and beginning to get a feel of independence.  Some were vocalizing as well [click here to play a sound I recorded of a juvenile Yellow-eyed Penguin, 90KB mp3].

But being a juvenile Yellow-eyed Penguin carries hazards , as the survival rate is only about 14% per year.  Predators include cats, stoats, and ferrets, and other hazards include loss of native coastal forest habitat ... and, more recently, global climate change.  

Also sharing the beach with the penguins on this stretch of the coast were Black Oystercatchers and Spur-winged Plovers.