Little blue penguins from Australia 'invaded' New Zealand

Australian little blue penguins, also known as fairy penguins, colonised an area in New Zealand, wiping out local penguins about 500 years ago, researcher say

They might be the cutest invaders ever. It seems a population of little blue penguins in New Zealand are Australian invaders who colonised the region very recently, exploiting a gap in the ecosystem left when humans arrived and wiped out the local penguins.

Little blue penguins, known as fairy penguins in Australia, are the smallest penguins in the world, growing to about 30cm tall and weighing a bit over 1kg.