Arthur the penguin

Penguin Rehab and Release are a local Landcare group with a gang of extraordinarily committed volunteers. Arthur’s Story by Kathy Grieveson, is available on the Landcare Tas website, and you can also follow updates about penguins in care on their Facebook page. Here’s part of Arthur’s Story, that demonstrates the effort that the volunteers put in.

Arthur is quite an extraordinary Little Penguin who came into care with some extraordinary complications. He was found in January at the mouth of Crayfish Creek, sinking into the sand at low tide. Huge thanks to Juleen who found him and recognised that something was wrong, thereby giving this amazing penguin a second chance. He came in at only 738 g, very underweight and severely dehydrated. He had dried oil on the surface of his feathers, and evidence that he had been struck by a vehicle, and suffered a traumatic brain injury, lacerations to his face and eyes, long gouges scraped off his upper bill, and the feathers on his face appeared to have been singed by the hot chassis. He had also ingested oil.

Arthur’s carers followed vet advice and treated him slowly and carefully, with painkillers, antibiotics, gentle bathing, bandages, dressings, home-made spongeclogs, hand-feeding, swim-training, weightloss advice, entertainment and, clearly, a lot of dedication.

PENGUIN FACT 1: Penguins have 3 times the feathers of any other bird (10,000) that form an overlapping waterproof coat that protects their thick down which keeps them warm in the sea. They spend a huge amount of time preening to keep their feathers in perfect condition, using a waxy oil from their preen gland to maintain their waterproofing. Anything disturbing the outer feathers can render them not waterproof, so they will no longer be able to dive or hunt.

Arthur had a much bigger personality than other penguins that Kathy and the team have treated. He remained cheerful, interested and vocal throughout his treatment and recovery, even when re-growing his feathers after moulting (an uncomfortable process).

After more than five months in care, in the wintery predawn, the volunteers said their goodbyes to Arthur. He was very excited to see and smell the sea again, jumping up to see out of his box. Then he was into the water and through the waves and then…he was gone. Goodbye Arthur. Stay safe out in the Big Blue. Live long and prosper.

If you would like to hear more about the work of Penguin Rehab and Release, get in touch with the group’s coordinator, Kathy Grieveson, who is running a training session in October in Burnie. penguinrandr@gmail.com

PENGUIN FACT 2: Penguins are released into the water. This ensures they are fit for ocean swimming because if a penguin is unfit for release it will return to land, indicating that it may need to return to care. If it is fit for release it will swim out and not return. They are also released after the colony has left for their fishing grounds, so as not to disturb other birds, and before predators (such as sea eagles and seals) wake up and set out to hunt.

PENGUIN FACT 3: Penguins are very good at conserving their energy. while they ' re in care, they don ' t have to hunt for food or be on the watch for predators, so they have a tendency to just " snooze and cruise " when in the pool. it means that carers have to annoy them a bit to ensure they build the strength and stamina necessary for release. For Arthur that meant holding him in the water as he tried harder and harder to get away, and splashing water over him while he was diving to encourage him to stay underwater longer.

Inaugural FROTHI weeding trip a success!

A small team of dedicated volunteers recently assembled on Three Hummock Island for the first working bee held by a new Wildcare group, FRiends Of Three Hummock Island!

In less-than-ideal weather (but with glimpses of sun to keep spirits up), we worked hard on seven of the island’s many beaches, handpulling Sea Spurge from four sites totalling 1.2 hectares (along 1.4 km), and picking up rubbish across more than 14 hectares (along 5.5 km). Because of the recent wild weather in the north-west, the beach profiles had changed considerably, and a lot of Sea Spurge was covered in sand. This meant that removing each plant required digging, sometime down more than 60 cm, and it was a sloooow process!

Altogether we filled around 130 bags of Sea Spurge (5-10 kg each), disposing of the plants safely away from tides and storms in locations where they will compost away.

Sea Spurge, Euphorbia paralias, is an invasive shrub that can take over beaches and dunes. On Three Hummock Island, we are working to reduce threats to Hooded Plovers, and removing Sea Spurge before it gets out of control will increase the area of suitable nesting sites for beach-nesting birds.

As we hiked along the beaches, we also picked up all the plastic and rubbish we could see, reducing the risk that animals will ingest or become entangled in debris. There was a lot more plastic (as well as cuttlefish bones, seaweed and bluebottles) than we usually see on the island, also thanks to the storms.

865 pieces of rubbish were collected including buoys, tubs, bottles, bottle caps and miscellaneous pieces of plastic. 61% was small pieces of plastic and foam under 5 cm (the type that is easily ingested by seabirds and, sadly, has been found in the guts of shearwaters on the Cradle Coast). About a quarter of the volume of rubbish was rope and net – lost and discarded fishing gear. A bag containing 4.8 kg of rope has been donated (?!) to a local artist for basket-weaving.

This working bee was supported by Wildcare, PWS, CCA (with funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program), and Three Hummock Island management, but nothing could have happened without the efforts of the volunteers and especially coordinators and island hosts, Taylor and Jesse – THANK YOU, FROTHI TEAM!