The ancestors of penguins spent their lives in the sky, but penguins traded flight for life at sea. Their wings evolved into flippers to let them swim with ease. Penguins have denser bones that birds of flight, and waterproof feathers to keep warm in the water.  

Fiordland Penguins breed throughout and are endemic to south-western New Zealand’s South Island, including the Fiordland region for which they are named, Stewart Island, and several other offshore islands. Outside of breeding season they travel across New Zealand, into deeper ocean, and occasionally as far as the Australian mainland as they forage.   

Fiordland Penguins that make the 2000km journey through sub-Antarctic waters and happen to reach Australia are often malnourished and require treatment at the Taronga Wildlife Hospital. To prevent potential spread of disease to the declining wild population, these rescued penguins are unsuitable for return to New Zealand and instead join Taronga Zoo Sydney’s colony as an insurance population and ambassadors for their wild relatives. 

Taronga Zoo is the only zoo home to a breeding colony of Fiordland Penguins anywhere in the world, founded by five penguins that were rescued from the wild and unsuitable for release. In 2024, our two breeding pairs each hatched and raised chicks, the first two Zoo-bred Fiordland Penguins. This significant milestone has allowed for new insights into the breeding behaviours and development of this illusive species, which will guide future conservation work for their wild relatives.