• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
Turbott, E.G. 1990. Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand. Ornithological Society of New Zealand, Wellington.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	A2ade+4abde	A2ade+3bde+4abde

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2020	Endangered	A2ade+4abde
2018	Endangered	A2ade; B2ab(ii,iii,v)c(iv)
2016	Endangered	B2ab(ii,v)c(iv)
2012	Endangered	B2b(iii,v)c(iv)
2010	Endangered	B2b(iii)+c(iv)
2008	Endangered	B2b(iii)+c(iv)
2007	Endangered
2005	Endangered
2004	Endangered
2000	Endangered
1996	Vulnerable
1994	Vulnerable
1988	Threatened

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	medium
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	395,000 km2	medium
Number of locations	8-9	-
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	2600-3000 mature individuals	medium	estimated	2020
Population trend	decreasing	medium	inferred	1992-2021
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	50-79%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	30-49%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	50-79%	-	-	-
Generation length	9.9 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	2	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	1-89%	-	-	-

Population justification: Past estimates suggested there were around 1,700 breeding pairs (3,400 breeders), with an estimated 60% of these in the sub-Antarctic (Auckland Campbell Islands) (Seddon et al. 2013), but recent declines on mainland New Zealand indicate the total population is lower that previously thought. Surveys in the Auckland Islands in 2017 estimated 577 pairs (Muller et al., 2020). The Campbell Island population was last estimated in 1992 at 350-540 pairs (Moore 2001). Stewart Island and outliers were estimated at 220-400 pairs in 1994, dropping to 178 pairs in 1999-2001 (Massaro and Blair 2003). In 2011-2012 South Island's south-east coast was thought to hold 452 pairs (Seddon et al. 2013), in 2015, there were 252 breeding pairs counted on the South Island, while in 2019, the total number of breeding pairs counted in the South Island was 227 (DOC; unpublished data). Based on these most recent estimates, the global population is estimated to be in the range of 2,684 - 3,064 mature individuals, rounded here to 2,600 - 3,000 mature individuals.

There is very little movement between the mainland and sub-Antarctic and genetic analyses reveal two distinct sub-populations (mainland New Zealand including Stewart Island, and the sub-Antarctic Auckland and Campbell Islands; Boessenkool et al. 2009). 

Trend justification: The species is thought to be declining overall as a result of a number of threatening processes, principally introduced predators, habitat conversion, changes in the marine environment, and disturbance. 

It has been suggested that the population on the South Island may show fluctuations, but population modelling of a well-studied colony on the Otago Peninsular showed rather that a dramatic decline has taken place: a 76% decline between 1996 and 2015 (Mattern et al., 2017). A consolidation of breeding numbers over the past 20 years in light of this decline reinforces the concern (New Zealand Department of Conservation [DOC] 2020, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, Department of Conservation, Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust, and Fisheries New Zealand. 2020): in 1999 there were 741 breeding pairs in the northern population (including Stewart Island/Rakiura  and surrounding islands), while the total recorded in 2019 is 265 pairs. This is equivalent to a 78.5% decline over three generations (29.7 years, after Bird et al. 2020). The decline appears to have accelerated after 2012: a 52% decline was recorded across the South Island between 2012 and 2019 (Seddon et al. 2013, DOC unpublished data, 2020). In 2011-2012 South Island's south-east coast was thought to hold 452 pairs (Seddon et al. 2013), in 2015, there were 252 breeding pairs counted on the South Island, while in 2018/2019, the total number of breeding pairs counted in the South Island was 227 (DOC; unpublished data). On Te Rere, Southland, the population has declined from 81 individuals in 2008, to 20 in 2018 and nests from 23 to 5 in the same time (Wood, 2018). The population size on Stewart Island and outliers were estimated at 220-400 pairs in 1994, dropping to 178 pairs in 1999-2001 (Massaro and Blair 2003).

Trajectories in the sub-Antarctic populations are not known but there is no evidence of declines on the Auckland islands between 1989 and 2017 (Moore 1992, Muller et al. 2020). The Campbell Island population has not been assessed since 1992. In light of the very rapid declines in the northern population and poor knowledge of the southern, overall declines are suspected to fall in the range 50-79% over the past three generations (29.7 years). These declines are likely to continue at this rate in the near future, however they are of such magnitude in the north that the contribution of this population to the overall population size will mean that the future rate of decline is suspected to be at a reduced rate.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
New Zealand	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
New Zealand	Adams Island
New Zealand	Aramoana Otago Harbour
New Zealand	Auckland Islands 2 (near-shore)
New Zealand	Banks Peninsula
New Zealand	Campbell Islands
New Zealand	Campbell Islands (nearshore)
New Zealand	Canterbury (offshore)
New Zealand	Catlins Coast
New Zealand	Dunedin Coast (offshore)
New Zealand	Enderby Group
New Zealand	Main Auckland Island
New Zealand	Moeraki Katiki Point
New Zealand	North Coast Rakiura
New Zealand	North Otago
New Zealand	North Otago (offshore)
New Zealand	Northern Titi Muttonbird Islands
New Zealand	Otago Peninsula
New Zealand	Paterson Inlet The Neck
New Zealand	Port Adventure
New Zealand	Port Pegasus
New Zealand	Rakiura (offshore)
New Zealand	Raratoka Centre Island
New Zealand	Ruapuke
New Zealand	South Otago (offshore)
New Zealand	Southern South Island (offshore)
New Zealand	Whenua Hou Codfish Island

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Pastureland	suitable	resident
Forest	Subantarctic	major	breeding
Forest	Temperate	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Pelagic	major	resident
Marine Oceanic	Epipelagic (0-200m)	major	resident
Shrubland	Subantarctic	major	resident
Shrubland	Temperate	major	breeding
Altitude	0 - 75 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching - Agro-industry grazing, ranching or farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		No decline		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use	Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources - Unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Species mortality
Biological resource use	Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Species mortality
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Unlikely to Return		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Climate change & severe weather	Habitat shifting & alteration	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Ecosystem degradation, Reduced reproductive success
Energy production & mining	Oil & gas drilling	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 3
		Stresses Species disturbance, Species mortality
Human intrusions & disturbance	Recreational activities	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species disturbance
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Canis familiaris	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Felis catus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Mustela erminea	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Mustela furo	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Plasmodium relictum	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Likely to Return		Majority (50-90%)		Causing/Could cause fluctuations		Past Impact
		Stresses Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Sus domesticus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Problematic native species/diseases - Phocarctos hookeri	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Problematic species/disease of unknown origin - Corynebacterium amycolatum	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Problematic species/disease of unknown origin - Named species	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success
Natural system modifications	Fire & fire suppression - Increase in fire frequency/intensity	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Likely to Return		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Yellow-eyed Penguin Megadyptes antipodes. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/yellow-eyed-penguin-megadyptes-antipodes on 22/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 22/11/2024.