24 May 2024

Critter of the Week puteketeke

From Afternoons, 3:34 pm on 24 May 2024

This week's critter isn't tiny, unloved or even unattractive, but it is bizarre. The puteketeke or Australasian crested grebe was crowned Bird of the Century last year thanks to an 'alarmingly aggressive' campaign by talk show host John Oliver. The puteketeke got a whopping 290,374 votes, light years ahead of the second-place winner - the North Island brown kiwi, which got 12,904 votes. John Oliver chose to champion the bird because "They puke, they do a 'weed' dance before mating, they have great hair, and there are fewer than 1000 of them left in New Zealand!"

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