Burny is one of three finalists of the Penguin of the Year competition, with 9000 votes cast worldwide. Photo / Supplied
Burny is one of three finalists of the Penguin of the Year competition, with 9000 votes cast worldwide. Photo / Supplied
The three finalists of for Napier's Penguin of the Year competition have been announced, with votes cast from across five continents.
The National Aquarium of New Zealand competition is back for its third year, with Burny, Captain and Mo set to battle it out for the prestigious title.
A record9000 votes were cast in the first round of the competition this year, with votes from across Oceania, Europe, Asia and North and South America.
After being narrowed down from a field of 14 penguins, it's all to play for between the three finalists, who all arrived in Napier as abandoned or injured chicks.
Captain, who only has one eye, is considered one of the aquariums nicest penguins. Photo / Supplied
Captain is one of the aquarium's nicest penguins and described as a "real gentleman".
Despite losing his right eye in an altercation with a seas bird, Captain is considered a good dad to son Dave and shares a burrow with fellow penguin Flip.
Mo has been a finalist in the competition for the previous two years. Photo / Supplied
On the contrary, Mo, who has been a finalist in the competition for the previous two years, is the aquarium's naughtiest penguin, but his girlfriend Betty is trying to keep him on the straight and narrow.
The eight-year-old's previous antics include hoarding nesting materials, stealing fish from other penguins – including when he stole nine fish in one go in March - and can be lazy.
Mo has been blamed as a bad influence on Burny, who was brought to the aquarium with burns on the soles of her feet after a fire on a beach.
Burny has begun pecking others in the face during feeding time, stealing Mo's fish and abandoning her egg in her friend Draco's burrow.
The three-year-old also recently ditched her boyfriend Martin to spend more time with the girls.
While some penguins can return to the wild after recovering, this trio became permanent residents as they were not strong enough to return to their natural habitat.
A National Aquarium of New Zealand spokeswoman said while most of the votes cast in the first 24 hours came from New Zealand, voters from the US, UK, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Israel, Vietnam, France, Spain, Russia, Norway, Malta and India also had their say.
Voting for the winner of the Penguin of the Year competition runs from October 9 until 10pm on October13.
