research, conservation, advocacy

Welcome

to the Tawaki Project!

New Zealand hosts one third of the world’s penguin species, six different species in total, most of which are endemic to the NZ region. Four of these belong to the group of crested penguins, species in possession of remarkable yellow crests. What these four species also have in common, is that they are the least known and  studied species on this planet – and the most threatened. The Tawaki Project aims at gaining better understanding of the crested penguins’ ecology, the threats they face and what we can do to mitigate them, and bring the species closer to the people of New Zealand.