Dead little blue penguins keep washing ashore in New Zealand. Experts say climate change may be to blame

The bodies of hundreds of little blue penguins have washed up on the beaches of New Zealand's northern coast in recent weeks, according to conservationists, who fear climate change is starving the birds to death.

The kororā, also known as little blue penguins, are native to New Zealand but are "at-risk" of declining, according to the country's Department of Conservation. They face predatory threats from dogs and ferrets but are also susceptible to road deaths and coastal developments.

Conservationists have been trying to find out why the penguins have been dying en masse since early May, when residents first spotted the dead birds on beaches.