Little penguins team up to hunt prey

AUSTRALIA - Little penguins are more likely to forage for food in groups, working together to target prey, new Deakin University research has found.

More than 60 little penguins (Eudyptula minor) were fitted with miniature GPS tracking devices at London Bridge in south-west Victoria's Port Campbell National Park so researchers could monitor their breeding patterns while searching for food.

More thought of as cute than predatory, the GPS devices showed the little penguins actually worked deliberately together to target their prey.

Study looks at threats to the world's penguins

King penguins.
Photo credit: Pete Bucktrout,
British Antarctic Survey

A major study of all penguin species suggests the birds are at continuing risk from habitat degradation.

Writing in the journal Conservation Biology, a group of internationally renowned scientists recommended that measures are adopted to mitigate against a range of effects, including food scarcity (where fisheries compete for the same resources), being caught in fishing nets, oil pollution and climate change.