Saving the Hoiho: How Women in New Zealand Are Rewriting the Future of Penguin Conservation
Following the Trail of Penguins
Heading to New Zealand there was one animal sighting we knew we couldn’t miss—and that was the penguin. What we didn’t realize is just how many people we’d meet in this pursuit, or just how critical these birds are to the ecosystems of this unique island nation. For over a month, we crisscrossed the South and North Islands, visiting remote beaches, rugged cliffs, and hidden coves, meeting the researchers, conservationists, and locals fighting to protect them. From kororā (little blue penguins) nesting in shoreline burrows, to Fiordland crested penguins navigating steep rainforest terrain, each species had its own challenges and dedicated teams working to keep them from disappearing.
(Little blue penguins in a nesting box. Photo Credit: Adam Moore)
But no story felt as precarious as that of the yellow-eyed penguin, or hoiho. And every conversation we had ultimately circled back to them. They’re what’s called a “taonga,” a treasured part of New Zealand’s natural and cultural heritage—even appearing on the country’s five-dollar note. Yet their future is uncertain. The mainland population has plummeted by 75% in just five years, leaving only about 420 birds remaining in the wild!
We stood on beaches where hoiho should have been plentiful, only to see none. We met rangers monitoring their fragile numbers, scientists decoding their struggles at sea, and veterinarians treating their injuries—all part of a full-scale fight for this animal’s survival. The deeper we went, the clearer it became: protecting hoiho is just as much about saving a single species as it is about safeguarding an entire ecosystem—land, sea, and everything in between—before it’s simply too late.
The Plight of the Yellow-Eyed Penguins
Yellow-eyed penguins spend 80% of their time at sea, diving deep for fish, but they depend on land to rest, nest, and raise their chicks—making them vulnerable in both environments. Onshore, introduced predators like stoats, possums, cats, and dogs hunt their young, while deforestation has wiped out the shady coastal habitat they call home. At sea, they’re pursued by barracuda, sea lions and sharks, and warming waters are pushing fish populations farther from shore, leaving many to starve.
(Yellow-eyed penguins at The OPERA. Photo Credit: Adam Moore)
Starvation is in fact one of the biggest threats they face. Once a year, these birds undergo a catastrophic molt, shedding all their feathers at once and remaining land-bound for four weeks. To survive this molt, they must double their body weight beforehand. Not only that, but if their first few foraging trips following their molt fail, they simply waste away. By the time rangers find them, it’s often a sad scene.
But that’s where The Otago Peninsula Eco Restoration Alliance (The OPERA) comes in. This dedicated conservation and rehabilitation center on New Zealand’s Otago Peninsula protects the country’s most vulnerable seabirds—especially the critically endangered, yellow-eyed beauty. The team monitors wild populations, rescues and rehabilitates injured and starving birds, and restores crucial habitats through reforestation and predator control. Unlike traditional sanctuaries, The OPERA is not about keeping birds in captivity. Rather, it’s about giving these birds the best chance to survive in the wild with all they’ve got!
While we were onsite through our expedition traveling the world consciously, The OPERA was monitoring only 16 yellow-eyed penguins across three beaches—five breeding pairs and six single birds, a shockingly low number for a region where they were once so plentiful. Their rehab facility is at the heart of their efforts, functioning as an emergency center for injured, sick, and malnourished penguins. Most stay only a few weeks before release, but some require months of care to regain their strength. Others simply don’t make it. Euthanasia is a difficult but necessary decision, and while the team works to remain objective, bird attachment is a challenge they constantly face.
(Yellow-eyed penguin chick at The OPERA’s rehab facility. Photo Credit: Adam Moore)
But no amount of hands-on care can fix a shifting ocean. Warming waters are altering marine ecosystems, pushing fish populations beyond reach, while these creatures of habit keep returning to the same depleted hunting grounds. It’s a crisis unfolding in slow motion, and despite The OPERA’s efforts—trapping predators, replanting forests, rehabilitating penguins—the biggest threats can’t be fixed from land. Without intervention, these birds could disappear entirely. And if we can’t protect them, what does that mean for the rest of the marine life that shares their waters? The OPERA’s work is a lifeline, but stopping the bleeding means understanding the whole system—not just saving a single species.
The Women Behind the Penguins
The team protecting the hoiho and their ecosystems is a powerhouse, and is composed almost entirely of women. At the helm is Mya Gaby, Head of Research, Rehab Specialist, and Wildlife Ranger. She tracks penguin populations, runs rehabilitation efforts, and coordinates research projects that provide critical insight into the broader health of the land and sea.
Mya’s team takes a holistic approach to conservation. Kate Bonne, a research and science communication specialist, monitors everything from penguins and sea lions to invertebrates, lizards, and freshwater species—collecting data that helps map biodiversity across the OPERA’s 250 hectares of coastal forest, wetlands, and rocky shores. Her work is just as much about understanding the past of what was once present here, as it is about ensuring a thriving future for native wildlife.
(Mya in the field at The OPERA. Photo Credit: Adam Moore)
Meanwhile, Ashley McMillan, a marine ecologist, focuses on the underwater world. The Otago coastline is home to 36 species of seaweed, 16 found nowhere else in the world. These fragile underwater forests are already changing due to warming waters and marine heatwaves, affecting the entire food web—including the fish penguins rely on. Together, Mya, Kate, and Ashley are tackling conservation from every angle—land, sea, and all that sit in between. Saving hoiho is about ensuring that every piece of the ecosystem they depend on remains intact and is as understood as possible by teams like The OPERA.
Out in the field, we got a firsthand look at their work—checking on kororā (little blue penguins) tucked in nesting boxes, peering into burrows to spot tītī (sooty shearwaters) and rako (broad-billed prions), seabirds that rely on these coastal habitats to breed. Every species plays a role, and the team is tracking every single step: penguin survival rates, prey availability, the health of kelp forests, and the growing impacts of climate change.
Conservation here is hands-on, sometimes messy, and always urgent. Whether it’s wading through bush, dodging crashing waves, or getting pecked by an irate penguin chick, these women are in the thick of it—doing anything and everything they can to find the answers that could help save an entire species and ensure a total system does not collapse before their eyes.
(The OPERA conservation team trekking the Otago Peninsula. Photo Credit: Adam Moore)
The Wildlife Hospital
That said, saving hoiho is a full-circle effort—one that extends beyond The OPERA to another critical partner: The Wildlife Hospital in Dunedin. While The OPERA provides frontline intervention, the hospital steps in when a penguin is too injured, sick, or underweight to survive on its own, offering advanced veterinary care that can mean the difference between life and death.
Dr. Lisa Aguilar, Director and Senior Wildlife Veterinarian, has dedicated years to hoiho conservation. Before 2018, injured penguins had to be transported to the North Island, a stressful journey that often led to fatal delays in care. With the establishment of the Dunedin Wildlife Hospital, survival rates have jumped from 50-60% to over 80%.
(Dr. Lisa Aguilar caring for a yellow-eyed penguin at The Wildlife Hospital in Dunedin. Photo Credit: Adam Moore)
Each year, the hospital treats 600-700 native animals, with hoiho making up nearly half of their patients. Most arrive with severe injuries—barracuda bites that are prone to infection, malnourishment from failed foraging trips, or exhaustion from molting. The hospital’s vets and nurses work quickly, administering pain relief, antibiotics, and specialized diets while minimizing human interaction to keep these wild birds from becoming habituated.
Once stabilized, penguins return to The OPERA or another rehab facility to regain strength before being released. This seamless partnership between The OPERA’s conservation team and the Wildlife Hospital’s medical experts is crucial to giving these rare penguins their best shot at survival. Looking ahead, the goal is to expand this effort further, with hopes of establishing a dedicated hospital onsite at The OPERA.
(A yellow-eyed penguin chick being cared for at The Wildlife Hospital. Photo Credit: Adam Moore)
A Future in the Balance
But at its core, The OPERA’s work is about redefining conservation for the long haul—building a future where this land and its wildlife can thrive long after we are gone. And they’re doing it with a massive scope, including a full-blown 100-year plan. It’s a thoughtful approach to rewilding lands and species preservation that acknowledges the scale of environmental restoration and the patience it takes to rebuild what was lost.
The land that The OPERA occupies on the Otago Peninsula includes a rugged stretch of coastline in the south of New Zealand, where steep cliffs meet rolling hills and dense forests once thrived. Historically, it was a sheep farm, with its lands having been damaged from the grazing process over the years. Today, with the help of Mya and her team, it’s being transformed back into a wild sanctuary that it once was—a process that starts with understanding the land itself.
(The OPERA’s managed land. Photo Credit: Adam Moore)
Through extensive ecological surveys, the team is mapping out what species are here, what’s missing, and what needs protection. Reforestation is a critical part of this effort, with over 25,000 native trees and plants being added each year to restore the coastal broadleaf forests that originally covered the peninsula. To sustain this work long-term, The OPERA has even established its own native plant nursery, ensuring a steady supply of trees for decades to come.
Yet, despite all the protections put in place on land, hoiho numbers are still falling. And it’s suspected that something is happening at sea—whether it’s overfishing, warming waters, or shifting prey patterns—that’s preventing them from returning. To solve this mystery, The OPERA is expanding its research efforts beyond the coast, working with marine scientists, conservation groups, and government agencies to better understand what’s happening in the waters these penguins depend on—hence the critical nature of Ashely’s role. There’s a lot more work to be done, but the team is assembling to try and figure out what we can do to stop that heavy bleeding.
(Mya and her team. Photo Credit: Adam Moore)
Right now, hoiho are classified as "nationally endangered," which doesn’t fully reflect the crisis facing the northern population. Recent research confirms that the northern and southern populations of hoiho are genetically distinct and do not interbreed, meaning that if the northern birds disappear, they’re gone forever. The OPERA, alongside other conservation organizations like the Yellow-Eyed Penguin Trust, is pushing for the northern hoiho to be recognized as a critically endangered population under the IUCN Red List. If successful, this classification would certainly unlock further funding and resource support to intensify protection efforts and give the species a real shot at survival.
What we came to realize about the people behind The OPERA—and the wider network of conservationists across New Zealand—is that they are far more than scientists, advocates or rangers. They are stewards of a future they may never see, building something that will hopefully long outlast them. Their work is so much more than saving a species on the brink, but about proving that with the right knowledge, commitment, and resources, we can reverse damage, restore balance, and rethink our relationship with the natural world.
(A single yellow-eyed penguin in the wild walking the shores of The OPERA. Photo Credit: Adam Moore)
Rather than letting loss dictate their path, they’ve chosen action—proving that real change comes from persistence, creativity, and an unshakable belief in what’s still possible. Every challenge is met with a solution, every setback with a new approach. Whether the hoiho will survive the next decade remains uncertain, but the work being done here is setting a new standard for conservation—one built on restoration, resilience, and the conviction that the fight for our planet is never one to give up on.
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Written By: Andi Cross | Photography By: Adam Moore | Support From: The Otago Peninsula Eco Restoration Alliance (The OPERA), the Wildlife Hospital, the Yellow-Eyed Penguin Trust
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SHE Changes Climate collaborates with the Edges of Earth Expedition, a woman-led team dedicated to highlighting impactful stories from the environmental frontlines. This partnership focuses on amplifying the voices of women who are pioneering positive change in some of the world’s most vulnerable coastal and marine environments, many of whose stories have gone untold.