The Te Manu Rongonui o Te Tau Bird of the Year 2024 has been announced and Dunedin locals are stoked!
The Hoiho yellow-eyed penguin has taken out this year’s competition with a solid 6,328 votes.
It’s the second time the Hoiho has placed first, with its last stint in top position being in 2019.
What makes the Hoiho so special is not only its name - which translates to ‘noisy shouter’ - but its distinct golden yellow head, and being one of the rarest penguins in the world, according to the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust.
Dunedin locals backed the penguin in this year’s Bird of the Year competition.
Charlie Buchan, marketing manager at Tūhura Otago Museum and Wild Dunedin, led the campaign with members of the Highlanders Super Rugby team, plus wildlife and environmental organisations.
Emerson’s brewery were even keen to get on board, creating a special brew of pale ale called ‘People’s Penguin’.
“This is not just a win for the Hoiho, but for the entire Dunedin community and the organisations working so hard to protect them,” Buchan told Forest and Bird.
"We worked really hard on this campaign for our awesome Hoiho friends. We're happy to fight for them and help them win,” Buchan added.
It takes a village, and Dunedin has an amazingly supportive community that truly values its world-famous wildlife and landscapes.
Last year's competition saw the pūteketeke (Australasian crested grebe) win the ‘Bird of the Century' title by a landslide, thanks to the celebrity campaign from John Oliver.
With over 350,000 votes flying in from 195 different countries, 2023 saw the most votes in the bird election had ever seen since it all started back in 2005.
While it was an impressive spotlight for NZ on a world stage, we’re stoked that this year’s winner was crowned thanks to a bunch of enthusiastic and dedicated Kiwis!
