An attempt to save the Tasmanian devil by shipping an “insurance population” to a tiny Australian island has come at a “catastrophic” cost to the birdlife there, including the complete elimination of little penguins, according to BirdLife Tasmania. Maria Island, a 116-square-kilometre island east of Tasmania, was home to 3,000 breeding pairs of little penguins […]
Tag: little penguin
Two men charged with trying to steal penguin and eggs from Tasmanian breeding ground
Two Tasmanian men have been charged after they allegedly tried to steal a penguin and two eggs from a breeding colony. Police were called to the Low Head lighthouse just before 2pm on Sunday following reports the duo were taking a live little penguin from the rookery. Before police arrived, members of the public intervened […]
‘We can’t blame animals’: how human pathogens are making their way into vulnerable wildlife
For 13 years now, scientist Michelle Power has been grabbing samples of human waste and animal poop from Antarctica to Australia to try and answer a vital question. Has the bacteria in humans that has grown resistant to antibiotics – an issue considered to be one of the world’s greatest health challenges – made its […]
Video – Little penguins return to ocean after being treated for injuries
After spending two months at a wildlife hospital, five little penguins are back in the ocean after being released from a Sydney beach. The birds, Footsie, Margaret, Collin, Bondi and Nigel, said goodbye to their Taronga Zoo handlers and swam away at Manly’s Shelly Beach on Tuesday morning. They were rescued from as far as […]
The World’s Smallest Penguin May Be In Danger
The world’s tiniest penguin may be in big trouble. Warming ocean waters could make finding food increasingly difficult for the little penguin, Eudyptula minor, which stands less than a foot (0.3 meter) tall. Because their prey is sensitive to heat, “we’re seeing that warm years are quite bad for the penguins, and it’s not hard to see that if the temperature keeps going up, things might get worse,” says Gemma Carroll, […]