They may call Australia home, but for a small colony of Little Penguins the risk of residing on Sydney’s Northern Beaches has never been more real.
- A Little Penguin (Eudyptula minor) waddles towards the waters edge at Manly Sea Life Sanctuary, Sydney. IMAGE CREDIT: Hannah Plummer
On a winter’s day at Collins Beach in Sydney Harbour National Park the air is fresh and salty. Small waves, of remarkably clear water, rhythmically roll onto untouched grains of sand and the almost deafening onshore winds drown out the sounds of local birdlife as it whips through the surrounding eucalypt forest.
At a glance, one could be forgiven for thinking they were on a deserted island, albeit for the boats seen anchored in the distance, the occasional jogger pounding the shoreline and the subtle webbed footprint indentations in the sand. In fact this secluded piece of pristine coastline is part of the Critical Habit belonging to a colony of Little Penguins, who have taken up residence in the backyard of one of Sydney’s most sought-after postcodes.
At 30cm tall and weighing in at less than a kilogram, Little or Fairy Penguins (Eudyptula minor) are the smallest species of penguin in the world and those found within this Critical Habitat form the last remaining mainland colony in Australia.
The Critical habitat is divided into two zones, with Area A starting from the eastern side of Little Manly Point and includes Collins, Store and Quarantine Beaches to the northern side of Cannae Point. Area B begins and winds around the foreshore at Manly point. Potential areas of habitat have been identified on the southern side of Cannae Point, along Dobroyd Point and on the eastern and western sides of Little Manly Point.
- Declared Critical in 2002, the habitat provides ongoing protection and recovery of the Little Penguin colony and allows for restricted access and targeted regulation of activities that threatened its sustainability. IMAGE CREDIT: Built using ArcGIS software.
In 1997 the colony was listed as endangered under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 when their numbers had declined to a concerning 35 breeding pairs. Over time and with the help of the National Parks and Wildlife Service recovery project, breeding programs at Manly Sea Life Sanctuary and charitable organisations such as the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife the colonies numbers increased to an estimated 60-70 breeding pairs.
That was until last year.
In 2015, the colony suffered a major set back with the loss of 27 penguins from a fox attack and according to NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service Ranger Melanie Tyas the outlook for the Little Penguins does not bring music to the ears.
‘At our most recent count there were only 40 breeding pairs,’ said Melanie, ‘the numbers are extremely worrying as these are the worst figures since monitoring began’.
‘The poor results will hopefully improve in the coming years, but it is likely to be a slow increase,’ said Melanie.
To make matters worse, Melanie reveals that aside from the threat of fox attacks, the rise in ocean temperatures and plastic pollution, the Little Penguins are now faced with the threat of habitat destruction.
Autopsies of recovered penguins indicate that the main culprits responsible for the demise of the Little Penguin colony are in fact, us, humans.
‘We have penguins that are presented with blunt force trauma consistent with boat strike. Many private landowners continue to garden regardless of the legislation and people are often found fishing within the critical habitat regardless of signage advising them otherwise,’ said Melanie.
The odds of happy feet ever returning to the shorelines has became even less favourable in recent months, as a property development company applied to the Department of Planning and Environment to amend planning control of the Critical Habitat at Quarantine Beach and remove the National Parks and Wildlife Service as co-proponents of the site.
‘The council has tried to prosecute for an illegal structure in the critical habitat and lost,’ said Melanie, ‘the law seems toothless when it comes to protecting penguins’.
Help is only a flipper length away
In a sea of big fish, it would seem that the aptly named Little Penguin faces a goliath-sized challenge that threatens to evict them from their native home. But they are not alone in battle.
The Foundation for the National Parks and Wildlife is ready to defend the pint-sized animals and have been since 1999. The national not-for-profit organisation works collaboratively with corporate partners, community groups and key stakeholders to save Australia’s native species from extinction.
Felicity Harvey, a communications officer from the organisation, revealed that the charity provides necessary funding to the Little Penguin Recovery Program to aid in their fight for survival.
‘Our projects successfully bring together communities, government, business, landowners, scientists and National Parks to raise awareness of the issues the Little Penguins face’, said Felicity.
‘We provide annual donations to the National Parks and Wildlife Service through fundraising initiatives and donation drives and we acquire and purchase land for conservation, which is incorporated and protected by the National Parks’, Felicity explained.
If their fundraising efforts are anything to go by, the Little Penguins have found a ‘fairy’ godmother. In response to the devastating effects of the fox attacks last year, the foundation raised over $24,000, which was put towards the purchase of new surveillance cameras, nest boxes and vegetation as part of Landcare Australia’s Green Army rehabilitation program.
While it all sounds positive, Felicity recognises that the penguins are not out of hot water just yet.
‘The biggest challenges we face are from private landowners who are not aware of the Little Penguins presence’, said Felicity, ‘Sydney is a growing city and we need to find a balance where urban development can happen without impacting upon endangered species’.
‘The plight of the Little Penguin is an ongoing debate, one that comes down to a lack of education’, said Felicity.
Melanie, the National Parks and Wildlife Ranger, could not agree more.
‘The colony would have been lost many years ago,’ said Melanie, ‘the penguins are very appealing and there is a great deal of community support for them. The amount of protection work is staggering which is why it is totally depressing to have such low numbers’ she explained.
‘To protect a species is something that the whole community needs to get behind if it is to succeed,’ said Melanie.
From the look of things today there is a community trying to save them. They may not have flippers, but together, they will help the Little Penguins of Manly find their happy feet.
How can you help Manly’s little penguins?
Become a National Parks and Wildlife volunteer penguin warden by calling (02) 9960 6266 or visit Manly Sea Life Sanctuary and sign up.
Hannah Plummer | 305134418 | Word count:
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