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Wilson’s little penguin – Eudyptula wilsonae

Presumed appearance of little penguins 3 million years ago - Massey University

A new species of fossil penguin has been named Eudyptula wilsonae after the late New Zealand ornithologist Kerry-Jayne Wilson MNZM, an internationally respected seabird researcher and advocate for conservation, and chair and scientist for the West Coast Penguin Trust.

New penguin species are being found and fitted into the jigsaw of the origins and lineage of penguins by a team from Massey University, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and Bruce Museum in the USA. This one, related to the little penguin or kororā of today, was found in three-million-year-old sediments in the Taranaki region.

Skull of Eudyptula wilsonae - Jnl of Paleontology — Skull of Eudyptula wilsonae, new species, presented alongside a skull from Eudyptula m. minor (type species – little penguin or kororā) – published in Journal of Paleontology https://doi.org/10.1017/jpa.2023.30)

Trust Manager, Inger Perkins, said:

“Naming this new species of little penguin after her is a wonderful and fitting acknowledgement for her enormous contribution to seabird science over many decades. We are thrilled her name will live on in connection with penguins, it is a tremendous and richly deserved honour.”

Read the whole story here:

https://www.massey.ac.nz/about/news/little-fossil-penguin-species-discovered-with-possible-connection-to-korora/

And the research has been published in the Journal of Paleontology:

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-paleontology/article/pliocene-fossils-support-a-new-zealand-origin-for-the-smallest-extant-penguins/A722D072F8EE3B5FC194A33EF7DBC47F

Exciting new Penguin Ambassador Encounter for the West Coast

November 5, 2025

Exciting new Penguin Ambassador Encounter for the West Coast

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New penguin encounter centre opened 17th October 2025

5 November 2025 An exciting new opportunity to meet little penguins / kororā - Ambassador Kororā Encounter - opened at the West Coast Wildlife Centre in Franz Josef last month. The West Coast Penguin Trust has been privileged to be connected to the ideas and plans for a penguin encounter opportunity here for a few years and were honoured to be at the official opening. We're delighted that our work is featured on a couple of panels at the new addition to the Wildlife Centre, a fixed panel and another that scrolls through some photos. Visitors are invited to make a donation for community conservation of penguins, kiwi and tuatara - the three species on display at the centre, promoting conservation of their relatives in the wild. Every year, donations will be shared between our trust and others working with kiwi and tuatara. The 'ambassador' penguins are birds that would not have survived in the wild, generally due to injury. Here, they can live out their lives in comfort and be ambassadors for their species. The event was opened by Paul Madgwick and other members of Te Rūnanga o Makaawhio with a Pōwhiri, followed by a speech by centre owner, Richard Benton, who, together with his wife Sherilee, have developed this wonderful new centre, benefitting penguins and the region. DOC Director Owen Kilgour added more conservation focus and noted the value of the work Richard and the West Coast Wildlife Centre have done for rowi and Haast tokoeka kiwi for many years and the strong partnership with DOC, welcoming the additions of penguins. Development West Coast CE, Heath Milne, welcomed the significant investment in tourism on the West Coast while giving conservation a priority, focus and stronger profile. And West Coast - Tasman MP, Maureen Pugh, had the honour of welcoming the new attraction and then cutting the ribbon with Richard. She also emphasised the importance of conservation - of our native species and their habitat, which was great to hear. Here's a news story about the ambassador penguins: https://www.facebook.com/reel/654336360889403 And photos below are from the opening event, including speeches, ribbon cutting, our panels, the donation panel, the opening event plaque, the penguins of course, and even ice penguin sculptures to add to the occasion. In place of red carpet, there was blue carpet, and the staff wore blue bow ties. The blue of little blue penguin was celebrated everywhere! Put a visit to the ambassador penguins and their wonderful new home on the to do list, for you, and your family and friends! https://wildkiwi.co.nz/the-attraction/penguin

penguin-ice-sculptures-enhanced-the-opening-event-r

The-new-penguin-enclosure

three-of-the-little-penguins-getting-to-know-one-another

opening-event-plaque

MP-Maureen-Pugh-with-centre-manager-Lisa-Stevenson

Donate-panel-just-tap-card

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penguin-encounter-panels-with-Martin-and-Chris-(marked-up)

Penguin protection fences get some TLC

September 24, 2025

Penguin protection fences get some TLC

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Checks and repairs of the fences have been carried out by volunteers and rangers

September 2025 The first trial penguin protection fence was installed just south of Punakaiki in 2013 and the main one for the Coast Road was constructed north of Punakaiki in 2014. A smaller one was added near Seal Island in 2015, the newest penguin protection fence was installed on the northern outskirts of Hokitika in 2021 and two new sections were added north of Punakaiki in 2023 and 2024. Penguin fence and sign, SH6

While materials were chosen that would stand up to the harsh coastal conditions, those same coastal conditions are conducive to plant growth! Occasional checks of the fences have been carried out by volunteers and rangers so that any maintenance needs can be identified and remedied. The never-ending need for maintenance is managing the vegetation that can grow through the fence, for example gorse, blackberry and hydrangea, pushing it to breaking point in places, or flop over causing damage from the weight of rank grass, rushes and weeds such as montbretia. Volunteers recently spent a few hours tidying up the main fence along Woodpecker Bay north of Punakaiki so a big shout out to them - thank you Fiona, Jony, Reef, Katrina, Mandy, Marty, Teresa and Deb! Flax had been pressing down on the fence, but now the fence has been freed up by these wonderful volunteers - and they picked up a fair bit of rubbish too.

Volunteer Natassja Savidge has offered to check and help maintain the Hokitika penguin protection fence and joined Ranger Lucy Waller and Manager Inger Perkins in May to inspect the length of the fence. Some minor issues were found but the main finding was the extent of the vegetation growth that was damaging the fence in places. Big thanks to Natassja!

Recently, volunteer Karen Hitchcock joined trust manager, Inger Perkins, for weeding along a section of the Hokitika fence and continued alone the following weekend. Karen is host at the Fitzherbert Court Motel in Hokitika, just a mile or so away. With Conservation Week in the news, 'naturing' on the agenda and Qualmark Bronze Accreditation, Karen decided to combine the three and offer time to help with penguin conservation. A Bronze business must meet all Qualmark’s expected standards in the Sustainable Tourism Business criteria. It identifies a business with high professionalism, an awareness of its impact on the environment and a customer-centric approach. Gorse, grass and montbretia were the main culprits, and a good start was made clearing them from the fence. Fast-growing gorse at a strainer post had snapped the top fence wire, which will need fixing but at least the fencer will be able to get to the fence. A big thank you to Karen!! The Hokitika penguin protection fence was kindly paid for by Westland Milk Products and they generously continue to support penguin conservation efforts. The fence follows the Westland District Council's fence on the coastal side of the sewage ponds and then follows fencing along the railway line. We are fortunate that both WDC and Kiwirail maintain their own fences and weed control helps keep the penguin fence clear. More volunteer opportunities will be coming soon!

Penguin fossils tell the penguin story, including some found on the West Coast

September 22, 2025

Penguin fossils tell the penguin story, including some found on the West Coast

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West Coast New Zealand penguin fossil discoveries tell us about penguin evolution

September 2025

Penguin fossils have been popping up in the news in recent years so it was interesting to discover that they are also being found on the West Coast recently.

First, a bit of background. New Zealand boasts the world's richest record of penguin fossils. They reveal that ancient penguins were diverse in size, reaching sizes much larger than today's penguins. Those early giants show that large body size was present at the dawn of penguin evolution, with some fossils dating back 60-62 million years. The fossils have also provided insights into the rapid evolution of early penguins' limb or wing shape. A couple of years ago, we reported on a new penguin fossil where the species had been named after our late Chair and Scientist, Kerry-Jane Wilson MNZM (read it here).

A couple of months ago, trust manager, Inger Perkins, and trust tawaki ranger, Catherine Stewart, were giving talks at the Westland District Library in Hokitika and were approached by a chap with a small suitcase. It turned out that, inside the case, Harry Jensen had the carefully prepared and packed fossil bones of a penguin's wing or flipper. The flipper fossil was much larger than that of a little penguin or kororā. In the case there are also two smaller as yet unidentified wing bones from two species of miocene-aged penguin found near Cape Foulwind, 11-9 million years old (Ma). He kindly accepted our invitation to speak for a few minutes at the end of the scheduled presentations explaining the hundreds of hours that goes into paring back the rock in which the fossils were found, often in large cobbles or small boulders.

penguin fossils — *Harry Jensen's case with fossil penguin flipper compared to little penguin flipper*

This fascinating and time-consuming hobby is contributing to the world's knowledge of earlier penguins and their distribution and evolution.

Harry explained about another fossil he has found near Rapahoe:

"The flipper fossil is from a penguin related to the Pachydyptes ponderosus, and is around 32-34 million years old, from the late Eocene. Pachydyptes is estimated to have been around 1.4 metres tall and weighing in at just under a hundred kilograms, the former heavyweight of the penguin world. Recent examination shows this is likely to be a new to science species, as there are certain differences between this specimen and the original Pachydyptes holotype*."

* Holotype: a single type specimen upon which the description and name of a new species is based.

Authoritiy on penguins at Otago University and now Otago Museum, Marcus Richards, (former Department of Geology Paleontology Curator and now Collections Technician at the museum) has been collaborating with Harry, as has Alan Tennyson, Curator of Vertebrates at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Alan Tennyson is a world expert on New Zealand's fossil penguins.

It seems that penguin fossils are not new on the West Coast. The first were found in 1869 in Woodpecker Bay, north of Punakaiki. There is a short note about this find on Te Ara here, including sketches of the fossilised penguin bones along with an outline of the equivalent bone of a Fiordland crested penguin or tawaki. The comparison shows how much bigger the ancient penguin was, perhaps twice as tall as the tawaki, which are 60cm tall.

Between Harry and his collaborators, at least six different types of fossil penguins have been identified from the West Coast.

penguin fossil expert — *Harry Jensen with articulated penguin suspected to be a species of Palaeeudyptes penguin, around 30 million years old, nicknamed the "murdergoose". Photo credit: Meg Fulford*

The Kumimanu fossil penguin, found in North Otago, proves that some of the earliest penguins were much larger than even the emperor penguin today. The University of Otago has been leading this work and you can find some information about their work here. It seems that Kumimanu fordycei was the largest fossil penguin every discovered, estimated to weigh in at a huge 154kg! Another newly described species is Petradyptes stonehousei, which would haveweighed 50kg. When compared to our current West Coast penguins, they are colossal. Tawaki are around 4kg and kororā just 1kg.

Fossil penguin v modern penguin — Skeletal illustrations of, left to right, *Kumimanu fordycei*, *Petradyptes stonehousei*, and a modern emperor penguin showing the sizes of the new fossil species. Credit: Dr Simone Giovanardi (from https://phys.org/news/2023-02-fossil-bones-largest-penguin-unearthed.html)

Giant penguin fossil bones were also found south of Christchurch in the early 2000s. It took many years to carefully remove and then study pieces of the skeleton. The penguin species weighed around 100kg and was about 1.77m tall. This one was also described as Kumimanu, after the Maori words “kumi”, meaning a large mythological monster, and “manu” for bird, and this time Kumimanu biceae. More on that story here from the Guardian.

Our thanks go to Harry for getting us excited about the history of penguins in the region and to him and his collaborators for the untold hours that go into finding, preparing and analysing these precious fossils. There is a lot more work to come and results will be published in due course. Postscript The study of fossil penguins is continuing apace, and news of the find and study of a giant fossil penguin skull from the Taranaki coast was shared this month. The skull is 35% larger than that of the Emperor penguins, which weigh upwards of 35 kg. RNZ National reported the study, orginally published in the Journal of Paleontology (18 Sept 2025) - find the news here with a link to the journal article: What caused the extinction of great penguins that roamed New Zealand? | RNZ News The scientists, including Alan Tennyson mentioned above, found that this giant penguin was alive 3-3.3 million years ago in the mid-Piacenzian Warm Period (mPWP) when global temperatures were around 3°C above those of the preindustrial era. They suggest that the extinction of giant penguins back then may have been linked to the arrival of large raptors including Haast's eagle.

fossil penguin skull — Borrowed from Journal of Paleontology, 18 Sept 2025, Tennyson, Marx, Ksipka, Thomas: Aptenodytes sp. indet., NMNZ S.048857: Skull in (1) dorsal, (2) ventral, (3) right lateral, (4) proximal, (5) distal, and (6) left lateral views.

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Woodpecker Bay Baches

Woodpecker Bay is the bay encompassing Fox River, just north of Punakaiki, on the wild West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island. Our West Coast accommodation consists of 6 self-contained baches situated along the coast of Woodpecker Bay. Woodpecker Bay offers remoteness and unmatched natural beauty and all of our baches have stunning ocean views and are right on the water’s edge. All baches have fully equipped kitchens and all linen is provided, all of our baches have free and fast WiFi. They are suitable for couples, friends and families looking to explore the beauty of the West Coast. We are thrilled to have been supporting the West Coast Penguin Trust since 2016.