Penguins can't fly, so what are the wings for?
Seeing this problem, many pot friends may think of such a picture...
(Original author: Ken Numakasa)
In as far away as New Zealand, people who live with penguins will give this admonition:
"They're not as cute as they look, and they can jump up at any time and slap you on the spot."
In this land, a kind of grumpy old brother-like gangster fierce face penguin "Yan Press Qunfang" has become the largest group of local penguins.
The eye-catching yellow eyes and yellow headband, at a glance, are completely different from the black and white penguins we are familiar with.
Sharp eyes, mature "hairstyles", expressions reveal the indifference of watching large scenes, with the yellow dye overturned by the creator on the top of the head, everywhere shows the difference.
Because of their loud voices, they were named Hoiho (meaning "loud hustlers") by the Indigenous Maori.
In English, Hoiho is vividly named Yellow-eyed penguin, the yellow-eyed penguin.
What is the name of this "loud noise maker"? Four words to describe it are: look up to the sky and roar.
The chest muscles tremble repeatedly, and the face-to-face cry is like a fight scene, of course, the onlookers do not need to be persuaded, and people are engaged in some friendly exchanges unique to intimate relationships.
"Don't fight anymore"
Like other penguins, when they were young, yellow-eyed penguins were also gray kiwis.
After some hair changes in the "awkward period", a pronounced yellow color appears.
Don't underestimate this dazzling yellow, the female will choose a mate according to this yellow, and have a yellow glowing, yellow brilliant, yellow head, which is the pursuit of all male penguins.
Once the yellow passed and the mate relationship was determined, the relationship between the two penguins lasted for life.
But this romance is occasionally tested: if the partner has fertility difficulties, years of relationships can be ruined.
Considering that the survival rate of the small penguins hatched by the yellow-eyed penguins is very low, it is indeed something that can only be done after many tests to have a healthy penguin baby.
Even if you succeed in having a baby, the life of raising a baby is not so easy.
Generally speaking, yellow-eyed penguins will leave the nest in the early morning and forage for food more than ten kilometers away from the nest, the whole process will take 2 to 3 days, and if necessary, they will continue to dive deep into the sea to find a small fish.
But with the baby, the process is much shortened, going out the morning before and having to rush home the next night, which is a double test of physical strength and hunting skills.
Savage, tenacious, evil, people who come into close contact with yellow-eyed penguins will give such an assessment.
But in fact, contrary to the big brother of the mixed society, the yellow-eyed penguin is a small transparent "senior social fear".
We often see Antarctic penguins living together in videos, whether it is foraging or returning home, the penguins always act collectively and adapt to group life.
As the world's only solitary penguin species, yellow-eyed penguins never consider excessive communication with other geese.
Although they will be in groups of three or five when they go out, they will always go back to their respective homes to find their own companions on the way home.
If the spouses in the family are waiting, they will stand up straight and greet each other, performing some mysterious shouting ceremony of joy to express their thoughts for each other.
From this point of view, in fact, it is very similar to human couples socializing outside, going home tired to hug and recharge, so it is quite loving.
"Obviously I came first"
In addition, they do not like to build nests within the line of sight of their neighbors, and sometimes even abandon the eggs in their nests when they find another penguin nearby.
The brain patch is a bit like "a colleague entered the elevator in front of him, and had to wait for the next elevator in order to avoid meeting".
But the difference is that the elevator is gone, you can wait any longer, the eggs in the nest are not needed, you can't hatch the little penguins. This makes the already unoptimistic population even worse.
So, although it seems to have a strong ability to survive, the reality is that the yellow-eyed penguin is one of the most endangered penguin species in the world.
Due to habitat loss due to human activities, the threat of natural predators and the effects of climate change, their populations have declined dramatically over the past 30 years, with only 2 to 3,000 remaining.
(Yellow-eyed penguins dying in fishing nets)
Even more shocking is that since the 1990s alone, the population of yellow-eyed penguins has decreased by about three-quarters.
In New Zealand, a private reserve called Penguin Plaza has been working to help the endangered yellow-eyed penguins.
Penguin Square dates back to 1985, when local farmers fenced about 60 hectares of land, creating a small sanctuary for the eight pairs of yellow-eyed penguins that nested on the land.
The little penguins hatch from their eggs and grow and mature day by day. Watching these "fierce" birds grow healthily in the reserve, the founders decided to continue the job so that more little penguins could grow carefree.
As Penguin Square expands, more and more yellow-eyed penguins come here to receive rescue.
Usually, hunger is a big problem for them, and about 80% of penguins arrive here underweight.
Commercial fishing has led to some penguins becoming the ultimate victims, and the small fish and squid in the sea have been greatly reduced, and the penguins who cannot catch food can only go hungry.
As a result, fattening the children has become one of the important tasks of Penguin Square.
For sick and injured penguins, wildlife hospitals will send them to a penguin house after treatment, where they will recuperate before being released back into the wild.
There was also nothing more gratifying to the staff than this: "We are happy to know at all times that what we are doing has a real impact." ”
Treat wounds and diseases, cleanse the body, feed the little fish... Under the whole set of operations of the staff, the little penguins who came to Penguin Square filled their stomachs and returned to nature.
To take care of the penguins' social phobia attributes and make them feel safer, Penguin Square is dotted with small chalets scattered around the reserve, hidden in the shade and bushes near the beach.
Every winter, hundreds of native trees and shrubs are planted throughout the reserve to provide the shade and privacy they need, so that the penguins can spawn and hatch without being disturbed.
Of course, Penguin Plaza doesn't just accept yellow-eyed penguins, and although yellow-eyed penguins make up the majority of them, it's also a refuge for all sick and hungry birds and other penguin species.
Visitors can also come here to rest and see the penguins and other animals in the reserve, where the money spent is used to keep Penguin Square running properly.
As the main habitat of today's yellow-eyed penguins, New Zealand has also broken its heart for yellow-eyed penguins.
For example, on New Zealand's $5 bill, the yellow-eyed penguin occupies a very important position, and behind each note, there is a small penguin standing tall.
In 2019, it also defeated 84 competitors to be named New Zealand's 2019 Bird of the Year.
New Zealand's "Bird of the Year" was chosen to draw public attention to the extinction of rare birds, and experts believe that if the trend of reduction cannot be stopped, the yellow-eyed penguin will become extinct within 10 to 30 years.
Fortunately, under the attention of organizations such as Penguin Square, the downward trend in the number of yellow-eyed penguins has eased to a certain extent.
In various publicity, the yellow-eyed penguin, which is not very popular, has gradually gained a lot of fame.
In the future, we may be pleasantly surprised to find that the population of yellow-eyed penguins is slowly rising.
Therefore, if you have the opportunity to see this "big brother" of the inner society and the external society, remember to stay away moderately and give them a little "private goose space".
Say hello from afar, and hope that the little ones can live healthily