Outcry over photo of hoiho encounter

Beer company Corona is being slammed for using a photograph that puts New Zealand’s endangered yellow-eyed penguin at risk, to promote its brand.

The Lion-owned brand published a photograph on social media on Wednesday showing a yellow-eyed penguin (hoiho) with three surfers metres away.

The photo, taken in the South Island by Tasmania-based photographer and surfer Nick Green, has also been published on Corona’s website along with another close-up of the penguin.

Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust general manager Sue Murray said the photo was ‘‘dreadful in so many respects’’.

The penguins are extremely vulnerable to human disruption and the recommended distance for humans is 50 metres.

‘‘There is no way they are anywhere near 50m away.’’

Murray said the penguin had nowhere to go because it had a photographer on one side and the surfers on the other side, so it was blocked from going out to sea and also to its nest.

If the penguin was going out to sea, it was probably trying to feed itself and bring food back for its chicks. If it was going to its nest, there was a danger the food in its belly could be fully digested before it was able to get to its chicks.

The additional stress put on the bird from human interactions like the photo portrayed was ‘‘really disturbing’’. They were an extremely vulnerable species struggling to survive, Murray said.

‘‘Mainland New Zealand is the only place you can find them in the world and for people not to respect and help protect them really disappoints me.’’

It was not known where exactly in the South Island the photo was taken, but Murray said there were signs at beaches in known habitat areas asking people to watch out for wildlife and stay a safe distance away.

She called on Corona to take the photo down and talk to its photographers about behaviour around wildlife.

‘‘The photo is on a popular site and it makes people believe that it’s OK to be that close to these species and it just is not.’’

The birds have just had their worst breeding season on record and just one bird being affected would undermine the work the trust and volunteers were doing to protect the birds.

‘‘It looks to me like a posed photo, which is even worse. It’s not just an opportune shot.’’

Yellow-eyed penguins have four main breeding regions in the South Island: Banks Peninsula, North Otago, Otago Peninsula and the Catlins.

There are fewer than 7000 birds in New Zealand, making it one of the most endangered penguin species in the world.

This season there were 225 breeding pairs – the lowest level since 1990-91 when numbers dropped to 150 breeding pairs.

Corona removed the photograph from its social media pages yesterday after being contacted by Stuff.

Lion external relations director Sara Tucker said the surfers in the photo stumbled across the yelloweyed penguin on the way to the beach and the moment was captured by Green, who was working with Corona.

‘‘We value NZ’s unique and precious wildlife and did not intend to cause any disrespect or distress.’’