Penguins stolen from Granite Island rehab centre

AUSTRALIA - There seems to be a disturbing trend in penguin thievery. First poor Dirk was stolen from his Sea World enclosure in Queensland in April, and now little penguins Alice and Kennie have been taken from Penguin Centre on Granite Island, South Australia.

The penguins were stolen between 11.30pm on 30 May and 4.30pm on 1 June.

The centre's owner/operator Dorothy Longden told the Victor Harbor Times that what had happened was "absolutely terrible" and that the penguins should have been safe at the centre. She said Alice and Kennie will not survive in the wild and need to be returned or taken to a vet.

Five-year-old Alice has a condition called bumblefoot that makes her limp and requires ongoing specialist care. Two-year-old Kennie was taken to the centre at just five weeks old after being abandoned by his parents and is too humanised to be suitable for release. Both are permanent residents at the centre, which rehabilitates sick and injured penguins from the Granite Island colony.

Police have asked for assistance to locate the penguins; anyone with any information should call BankSA Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report online at www.sa.crimestoppers.com.au.

Source
Two penguins stolen from Granite Island, 6 June 2012, Victor Harbor Times

Grim census results for Granite Island's penguins

AUSTRALIA - The results are in for the annual little penguin census on South Australia's Granite Island - and things are not looking good.

ABC News reported the count found only 102 penguins - 30% fewer than 2010. The figures are even more worrying when compared to the 1,600 recorded 10 years ago.

According to conservationist Natalie Gilbert of Granite Island Nature Park, there may be no penguins on the island by 2020 if this trend persists.

"That's why we're putting so much effort now into trying to find out if there's a way to make them feel safer and make it more appealing for them and give them a better environment and work out what exactly is the main issues," she told ABC News.

Read related posts

Source
Granite Island penguins could be gone by 2020, 24 August 2011, ABC News

Seal cull not neccesarily way to protect South Australia's penguins

AUSTRALIA - The South Australian Department of Environment has confirmed it has been lobbied for a New Zealand fur seal cull or relocation program as a possible way to halt the decline of the little penguin population on Kangaroo Island.

While the number of penguins in the Victor Harbor/Kangaroo Island region has plummeted, the seal population is now up to 30,000.

John Ayliffe, manager of Kangaroo Island Penguin Centre told The Advertiser that there were about 40 seals specialising on hunting penguins on or near the island.

"There are significant numbers of people who are speculating on [a cull] to maintain a balanced ecosystem," he said, adding that it was not for him to advocate culling as it was a political decision, but it was worth trying to relocate some seals.

The Government's response has been to wait for more research before making a decision. A spokesman for the Department of Environment said that no option could be ruled out until an expert report was obtained in September.

On a local level, the Kangaroo Island Natural Resources Management Board held an Overabundant Species Workshop in June in response the community's concerns. Experts at the workshop strongly advised the Board against any direct action towards New Zealand fur seals at this stage. Presiding Board Member Richard Trethewey told The Advertiser the Board wanted better research before identifying if a solution were needed but would not rule out any action, including a cull or relocation programme.

Meanwhile, penguin experts do not see a seal cull as a solution for the declining penguin population on nearby Granite Island, which is undergoing a census this month.

Researchers predict that this year's census will show a continuation of the devastating downward trend which has seen the island's penguin population drop from 1548 to 146 in the past decade, but say it has not been proven that fur seals are the cause of the decline.

Natalie Gilbert of Granite Island Nature Park told the Sunday Mail, "We need to investigate all possibilities. We shouldn't be making such important decisions [on culling seals] without being completely knowledgeable on the subject. We haven't been able to pinpoint the problem."

"Some colonies in South Australia have got seals close by - lots of them - and are doing fine. Others don't seem to have as many and seem to be suffering a lot more," she told ABC News.

Penguin ecologist Annelise Wiebkin told the Sunday Mail there was not not enough information to prove that culling the fur seals would work, and that the best way of dealing with the problem was managing things on the land.

"If land predators like cats, rats and dogs are an issue - which have been in other colonies in Australia - if we can address that and improve habitat, that might counteract things happening out at sea," she said.

To find out what is behind the Granite Island penguin population decline, researchers but have implemented measures such as motion sensors cameras to capture footage of predators in the penguin colonies, microchipping penguins for future identification, and a program encouraging people to bring in any dead penguins they discover for autopsy.

Vegetation on the island is also closely monitored to ensure it meets the penguins' needs and in July, students and volunteers installed 35 nesting boxes to encourage the birds to breed.

Read related posts:
Penguin houses installed to improve penguin numbers
NZ fur seal population boom could spell doom for Kangaroo Island's little penguins

Sources
Experts predict little penguin on brink of extinction by Kim Robertson, 16 August 2011, ABC News
Granite Island penguins are on the brink of being wiped out by Sarah Mennie, 13 August 2011, Sunday Mail
Calls to cull fur seals off Kangaroo Island by Miles Kemp, 8 August 2011, The Advertiser
Kangaroo Island Natural Resources Management Board Meeting Minutes, 27 June 2011

Penguin houses installed to help improve numbers

Granite Island little penguin pair.
Photo credit: Natalie Gilbert

AUSTRALIA - The local housing situation for little penguins on Granite Island, South Australia, is looking much better after the installation of nest boxes as part of a penguin habitat planting day on 27 July.

The island's penguin population has declined significantly; 10 years ago there were more than 2000 penguins and last year there were only 146.

The planting day was organised by Friends of Encounter Seabirds and Granite Island Recreation and Nature Park. As well as installing around 50 nesting boxes, students from Investigator College and other volunteers planted 300 local native plants provided by the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board in the south-west corner of the island.

The penguins have not been nesting in this part of the island for some time now, which could have contributed to the population decline.

“The planting day and installation of nest boxes aims to improve the nesting habitat in these areas to encourage penguins to return,” says Annelise Wiebkin, Friends of Encounter Seabirds penguin ecologist.

Tony Flaherty, Manager Coast and Marine for the Board said, "Little penguins are under pressure from predators and disturbance from people."

He told ABC News that historically penguins had nested in the south-west area of the island but some of the habitat had been degraded.

"There's been some erosion issues and other things so we're hoping by providing more areas for penguins to nest that we can help the penguin numbers recover." 

Sources
Penguin housing helped by students, 25 July 2011, Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board
Project aims to coax Granite Island penguins back by Scott Bills, 27 July 2011, ABC News

Thieves steal little penguins under cover of darkness

AUSTRALIA - Some very upsetting news from South Australia this week as Granite Island Penguin Centre told the Sunday Mail that vandals have climbed fences to abduct little penguins and destroy their habitat.

"We've had six penguins stolen, it's dreadful," Penguin Centre co-ordinator Dorothy Longden told the Sunday Mail.

The Penguin Centre cares for sick and injured penguins before releasing them back into the wild. To steal the penguins, the thieves had to scale a six-foot-high concrete fence. As if stealing the birds wasn't horrible enought, the perpetrators also destroyed the penguins' burrows.

Mrs Longden said that she thought the thieves either released the stolen birds elsewhere, where they are unlikely to survive, or tried to keep them as pets.

To make matters worse, the penguins are being taken from an already dwindling population. Ten years ago, the island's penguin population was 1,500; last August's census showed there were only 146 birds left.

Environment Department Kangaroo Island regional manager Bill Haddrill told the Sunday Mail that humans were part of the reason penguin numbers had dropped, along with dogs, cats, rats and New Zealand fur seals.

"Human disturbances in the form of habitat loss and habitat modification play a significant role in determining sustainability of little penguin colonies, as do human visitation impacts," he said.

The centre has security measures such as the fences and cameras in place, but Mrs Longden says more needs to be done. She would like the causeway that connects that island to the mainland closed off at night, which is when all the problems, including bottles being thrown into the penguins' burrows, have occurred.

"We have to be serious about the penguins we have left. If we close the causeway off we might stand a chance. We started a petition in January and have more than 1,000 signatures, we want about 2,000 altogether," she said.

Source
Fears for penguins being pinched from Granite Island by Sarah Mennie, 20 March 2011, Sunday Mail (SA)