Election with record turnout: New Zealand's Bird of the Year is very well rounded

dpa/afp | Record voter turnout in New Zealand: According to the environmental organization Forest and Bird, around 105,000 people took part in the election for Bird of the Year, which was won by the endangered Chatham Flycatcher.

As organizer Rebecca Hatch announced on Monday, the little black bird received more than 26,000 votes - securing the top spot ahead of the popular Kakapo, known as the fattest parrot in the world, and the Karareea, also known as the Maori Falcon.

The karure's victory is more than just an entertaining internet election: the species embodies one of the great success stories of animal protection. In 1980 there were only five specimens left in the world, including only one fertile female. Starting with a single breeding pair, Old Blue and Old Yellow, conservationists managed to rebuild the population. Today, around 350 adult Karur live on two islands that are protected from introduced predators and are part of the Chatham Islands off the coast of New Zealand.

The online vote for the New Zealand Bird of the Year has been very popular internationally for years. In 2019 there were protests against alleged Russian influence because hundreds of votes were traced back to Russian IP addresses. However, the organizers classified most of the votes as permissible, and nothing changed about the yellow-eyed penguin's victory.

The vote combines bird protection with a tongue-in-cheek “election campaign”: the advocacy of certain birds during the two-week vote has long since become a cultural phenomenon – with memes, costumes and a lot of online hustle and bustle.

In 2023, the great crested grebe, known in New Zealand as Puteketeke, won after the host of the US late night show “Last Week Tonight”, John Oliver, promoted the water bird.

“But there is a serious message behind it,” said Forest and Bird spokeswoman Rebecca Hatch. “80 percent of our bird species are endangered or even critically endangered.” This is also evident at the top of the competition: eight of the ten best-placed species are in great danger.