Bird of Century: Pūteketeke wins the New Zealand ballot after John Oliver's campaign

 Bird of Century: Pūteketeke wins the New Zealand ballot after John Oliver's campaig

Following John Oliver, the presenter of an American talk show, controversially interfering in a vote, the putaketeke has been named New Zealand's Bird of the Century.

Mr. Oliver's "dangerously aggressive" campaign for the endangered crested grebe sent the world into a frenzy.

Less than 3,000 native birds are thought to still be present in the wild.

Although the Bird of the Year competition has been going on for over 20 years, a record amount of votes were cast in this year's special poll.

Over 350 000 votes were cast from over 200 nations, resulting in a collapse of the vote verification system and a two-day delay in the results.

Future New Zealand prime minister Christopher Luxon tweeted, "Congratulations to campaign manager John Oliver and every one of those who lent their encouragement to Poteketake."

Potecateke began as "an outsider contender," according to Nicola Tocci of Forestry & Bird, the environmental protection group that oversees the tournament.

"But [it] was catapulted to the the number one position because of its unique looks, adorable parenting style and proclivity to vomit," she said.

The HBO host of Last Week Tonight, Mr. Oliver, was won over by these attributes.

"These bizarre vomit birds have vibrant mullets. Here, what's not to like?" Oliver said last week when he introduced Lake Bird's campaign on his program.

Mr. Oliver, who has dual citizenship from the United States and Britain, subsequently made an appearance on fellow comedian Jimmy Fallon's talk show donning a gigantic, fluffy Poteeteke costume.

The comedian dubbed the bird "Lord of the Wings" on billboards throughout New Zealand, Japan, France, and the UK, alluding to the Lord of the Rings film trilogy that was being shot in New Zealand.

Mr. Oliver said, "This is what democracy means: US meddling in elections abroad."

However, there were those who took issue with his approach, with many in New Zealand accusing the bird of being part of a coordinated attempt to protest "American interference" in the election.

The phrase "Dear John, do not interrupt the pecking order" is shown on billboards supported by the green parrot known as the Kakariki Karaka. Others pushed voters to support the Kiwis, likening them to a "rat holding a toothpick," according to Mr. Oliver.

Some individuals were motivated to conduct voting fraud due to the intense rivalry. One fan of the eastern rockhopper penguin, which Mr. Oliver called a "hipster penguin," tallied forty thousand votes in favor of the species. 3,403 votes were cast by another individual from Pennsylvania, one every three seconds. Neither was counted in the final total.

The potaketeke, also called the Australasian crested grebe, garnered more than 290,000 votes when the votes were counted. The Kiwis came in second with 12,904 votes, 22 times less than the other team. Among the top five were fantail, kakapo, and kea.

The tournament has been the subject of controversy on previous occasions. The world's fattest parrot, the Kakapo, caused a stir last year when it was prohibited from participating since it was the only bird to have won twice before. Then came the surprise of 2021 when a bat was named the winner of the Bird of the Year award.

Even if this year's issue was unusual, Ms. Toki said it was nevertheless helpful since it brought attention to the nation's birds' predicament on a worldwide scale.

"More than 80% of our indigenous birds are listed as endangered...The way we treat our birds is being seen by the whole globe.