Yellow Eyed Penguin

A penguin endangered by global warming

My illustration for Animal Alphabets, letter #Y - Yellow Eyed Penguin.
The yellow eyed penguin (Megadyptes antipodes) is native to New Zealand, where it is known also with his Maori name, hoio. The species is characterized by a band of bright yellow running from its eyes around the back of the head. It breeds on the coasts of the South Island of New Zealand and of the nearby small islands with an estimated population of only about 4000 individuals. The species is listed as Endangered on the Red List of IUCN because it is confined to a very small range and its population has undergone a very rapid decline over the past three generations. The main ongoing threats are invasive predators, fisheries bycatch, human disturbance from unregulated tourists at breeding areas and habitat degradation. In particular modelling has found a likely correlation between changing sea surface temperature and penguin vital rates.
In my illustration two penguins are sailing looking for cooler waters. [2017]