New Zealand penguins face injury, infection, starvation: study

WELLINGTON, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Injury, infection, and starvation are the leading causes of death among New Zealand's native penguins, highlighting the growing threats to these iconic seabirds and the challenges of monitoring their health, a study has revealed.

Drawing from more than 1,400 entries in the national wildlife necropsy database, researchers from New Zealand's Auckland Zoo, Massey University, and the Department of Conservation, as well as Australia's Murdoch University, found striking patterns in causes of mortality.

The study, published on Thursday in PLOS One, focused primarily on the yellow-eyed penguin and the little blue penguin, which together made up the bulk of the dataset.

The analysis of necropsy records reveals that infectious and inflammatory diseases were most common in yellow-eyed penguins, accounting for over 43 percent of their diagnoses, while traumatic injuries were most prevalent in little blue penguins, almost 43 percent.

Across all species, emaciation was widespread, found in over a third of cases, the study said, adding these findings mirror concerns in conservation literature that penguin populations are suffering from declining food availability, increased predation, and environmental degradation.

However, the study also highlights significant limitations in the data. For instance, despite their remote range, yellow-eyed penguins are overrepresented due to concentrated conservation efforts, while other species remain underreported.

With six of the world's 18 penguin species breeding in New Zealand, and most considered threatened, the findings underscore the urgent need to improve wildlife health monitoring systems. Enditem