Afrigather 
The pūteketeke, a chook also referred to as the Australasian crested grebe, was named New Zealand’s Chook of the Century in an annual contest. Photo by jggrz/Pixabay.com
Nov. 15 (UPI) — The pūteketeke, also referred to as the Australasian crested grebe, was named New Zealand’s Chook of the Century after a marketing campaign spearheaded by comic John Oliver.
Conservation charity Forest and Bird announced the winner Wednesday after a two-day delay brought on by a flood of votes that quickly crashed the web voting verification system.
Oliver voiced his help for the pūteketeke within the on-line vote through the Nov. 5 episode of his HBO sequence, Final Week Tonight.
“No chook on Earth is extra deserving of Chook of the Century than this one,” Oliver stated. “They’re bizarre puking birds with colourful mullets. What’s to not love right here?”
Forest and Chook stated greater than 350,000 votes have been forged within the Chook of the Century ballot, and 290,374 of these went to the pūteketeke. The earlier file for many votes forged within the annual contest was 56,733 in 2021.
