Little Penguin Rehabilitation Centre

The National Aquarium's Little Penguins (Kororā)

The Little Penguin (Kororā) is the world’s smallest species of penguin and is native to New Zealand (as well as South Australia). Their name is perfect, because Little Penguins only grow to about 30cm tall, and usually only weigh around 1kg.      

All of the National Aquarium of New Zealand’s Little Penguins are there because they need help from the Aquarium’s specialist staff. They arrived as abandoned chicks, victims of dog attacks, partially sighted, or have become sick in the wild. Some are missing flippers due to getting caught in fishing nylon.

The Aquarium’s Penguin Cove facility is a rehabilitation centre for little penguins, assisting with recovery of sick or injured birds and returning them to the wild. Some penguins are not strong enough to return to their natural habitats, so they find a permanent home at Penguin Cove. The penguins have lots of space to waddle across their own private beach and then dart through the water as they go about their penguin business.   

The Aquarium team work closely key stakeholders including the Department of Conservation, Napier Port, and Napier City Council when dealing with injured Little Penguins.

Report a Little Penguin

If you see an injured Little Penguin out in the wild, please phone Department of Conservation on 0800 DOC HOT.

Penguin Close Encounter