Taking responsibility for our Little Penguins Of all the Australian states, Tasmania has the highest proportion of its population (99%) living within 50 kilometres of the coast. Despite our chilly climate, we prize our nearness to the water, and we build shacks, pathways, playgrounds and homes near the beach. In some urban areas, residents literally have penguins living on their doorstep, burrowing under their houses or in their backyard. How special is that? Cradle Coast Authority, Member Councils, governments, and community groups have learnt a lot about penguins and the threats they face on land and at sea over the last 25 years. We’ve built penguin fences to stop them being run over by cars and trains. We’ve documented the location of penguin colonies in urban areas and developed management plans to help protect them. We’ve raised community awareness about Little Penguins and provided examples of how we can all help to look after them better. We’re certainly heading in the right direction, with Little Penguins recently declared to be “sensitive wildlife” by the Tasmanian Government. The Stanley Peninsula and the coastal strip from Wynyard to Don Heads have been declared as sensitive wildlife areas and additional penalties for dog attacks apply.
(Photo credit: Perviz Marker)
Unfortunately, on land, the threats continue: clearing habitat, feral and domestic cats and dog attacks. Many coasters were justifiably horrified to recently hear about more penguin deaths at Camdale. Last year there were more than 40 penguin deaths reported at Wynyard, leaving at least 10 penguin chicks orphaned. Over the years, Little Penguin deaths have also been reported at Stanley, Sulphur Creek, King Island and West Ulverstone culminating in hundreds of deaths. Historically, some colonies have been wiped out, and others have been severely impacted by the loss of mature breeding birds. Nearly all of these have been confirmed as dog attacks.
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