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A Penguin’s Life in the Big City

By Leonie Gale

Chief Executive Officer, Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife, Australia

‘Little Penguin Wardens’, Sydney, NSW, Australia is the name of a Community Service project of Rotary eClub One D5450 supported by the Club’s 2008/2009 President, Angus M Robinson who also champions the Club’s ‘Preserve Planet Earth’ initiatives. Angus commits community service time as a volunteer Director of the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife (the Foundation) which funds this project.

Penguin Wardens are volunteer ambassadors for an endangered colony of Little Penguins right in the heart of Sydney Harbour, on the foreshore of waterfront suburb Manly. The Penquin Wardens help with monitoring of the endangered colony and provide members of the public with accurate information about the penguins, their habitat and their needs. The Wardens' awareness raising activities and safeguarding of the colony are invaluable, especially during the breeding season from June to January when the birds are most vulnerable.

The Southern Hemisphere of Planet Earth is home to the most popular of aquatic birds, the penguins. From the South Pole to the equatorial Galapagos Islands there are 17 species perfectly adapted to their chosen habitat.

Australia’s Little Penguin, the smallest of the world’s penguins, lives along the southern edge of mainland Australia and in Tasmania, and it also occurs in New Zealand and the Chatham Islands.

Most breeding pairs live in colonies on remote islands, but there are some scattered mainland colonies braving the dangers of a human neighbourhood.

The penguins’ Latin name, Eudyptula Minor, means ‘Good Little Diver’ and is a testimony to their perfect adaptation to life at sea. Their head and back are greyish blue, while their underside is white. This camouflage - something they have in common with the Great White Shark - makes them almost invisible from above as well as from below as they zoom through the water catching fish.  When they come ashore, however, the penguins’ dark upper plumage stands out distinctively against the sand.

Being somewhat clumsy and poorly camouflaged on land, their nightly return home to their burrows is a safety hazard in a Little Penguin’s life. An easy prey for dogs and foxes most mainland colonies have now disappeared and the Manly colony is struggling to withstand the same fate.

A number of conservation organisations, including Sydney’s Taronga Zoo, Manly Council, the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service and the Foundation work to keep the penguins safe and the colony alive.

Penguins can get injured by boats or fishing gear, and any lucky survivors are nursed back to health and often returned to the colony. New arrivals that hatched in captivity regularly join their wild mates to boost the number of breeding pairs. 

A suitable burrow is hard to come by on the densely developed waterfront and artificial nest boxes are a welcome alternative. They support a higher than average breeding success each season but they need to be replaced frequently due to termites as well as the penguins’ own poor housekeeping.

The waters around the colony are protected as critical habitat. Boats are not allowed near the beach and mooring in the sea grass beds where the penguins hunt for their favourite treat, anchovies.

Nest boxes, captive breeding and releases are incredibly important in relieving some of the pressures on this already endangered population, but at about 70 breeding pairs numbers are so low that any loss is devastating. The Foundation has funded these recovery measures for many years and the monitoring shows that the population is stable, but this only means that without the funding support. they would not survive.

Every year dog attacks and boat accidents kill Little Penguins from the Manly colony, and during breeding season this may also mean the loss of a pair’s chicks. It is now accepted that Manly’s Little Penguins need strict protection.

During breeding season in winter and spring the birds are at their most vulnerable. Any noise or light on the beach may frighten them and prevent them from returning to their chicks. Any bird that gets killed is likely a parent lost.

To educate the local community on penguin safety the Foundation has included the penguins in its ‘Backyard Buddies’ program. Backyard Buddies is an awareness raising program for people enjoying and living with backyard wildlife. It promotes understanding and appreciation of urban native animals from blue-tongue lizards to lorikeets.

Penguin buddies learn that the birds love their privacy. They like their beaches dark and quiet, their ocean clean and free of fishing line and pollutants. In return they present one of the most amazing wildlife encounters that any city in the world has to offer.

And so it is in the local community that the Little Penguins find their strongest allies. Every night from 6 to 12 PM, in the cold and wet of the Sydney winter, volunteers stand guard to protect their Little Penguins and ensure their safe return home from the sea. These Penguin Wardens are ambassadors for the endangered colony, helping with monitoring and spreading the word of penguin conservation with passers-by; the volunteers’ presence is invaluable for the survival of this special colony.

Small donations and support including polar fleece jackets, beanies and gloves, waterproof torches and safe footwear make a world of difference to the 30 volunteer wardens.

The Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife also provides for a volunteer coordinator who supports the volunteers once a week. It is a simple step to help build the capacity of volunteer groups and one of the best ways to invest conservation dollars.

Australia is incredibly lucky to have penguins living right in its major cities. We owe this privilege some care and dedication to ensure that these Little Penguins will still be here for future generations to enjoy.

Further Information contact Carmen Welss at The Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife  cwelss@fnpw.org.au