Conservationists are desperately trying to protect the few remaining little penguins on a major tourist island in the country’s west, where there are thought to be just over 100 individuals remaining.
Estimates suggest on Penguin Island, off the Perth coast approximately 660 metres from Shoalwater, little penguin numbers have decreased by an incredible 94 per cent since 2008 and 64 per cent since 2019. It’s prompted a range of ideas to combat the drastic reduction in population, including potentially banning tourists and visitors to the island in a bid to conserve those remaining in the colony.
One local penguin enthusiast and activist Dawn Jenkins said “Rockingham’s residents are really upset” about the loss. She thinks closing the island to visitors entirely for a few years may be one way to focus efforts on conservation.
But, she argued “tourism dollars” are standing in the way of prioritising the birds’ future.
While urban sprawl and human interference remain a leading factor in the loss of populations of a number of native Australian animals across the country, not all are convinced people are directly responsible for the penguins’ decline on this island.
Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, Flinders University’s Professor Corey Bradshaw, who specialises in extinction risk in small populations, said unless people are physically touching and handling the animals, it’s unlikely we are solely responsible for their decline.
Penguin Island is synonymous with its resident little penguins, but now there’s hardly any left. Source: WA Government
Locals grapple with sharp decline of beloved little penguins
Bradshaw thinks there are likely other factors at play.
“[Banning tourists] might help reduce disturbance somewhat; [but it] depends how close they’re allowed to get,” he told Yahoo News. “It won’t reverse trends, [and] unless the tourists are actually handling penguins, or disturbing breeding sites, their impact is likely minor,” he argued.
“I suspect declines are due to prey changes from climate change and overfishing.”
Bradshaw’s notion is echoed by WA’s Environment Minister Reece Whitby. He acknowledged human interference can threaten the little penguins on the island, but said climate change was a much bigger player in their decline.
“It’s not the impact of tourism directly that’s had a negative impact, it’s climate change,” Whitby told the ABC. “We need to make sure that we don’t have open slather… but we’ve had sustainable tourism on Penguin Island for decades and decades.”
It’s believed there are approximately 114 little penguins left on the island. Now, locals are trying to reverse the damage. Source: City of Rockingham council
Council cites climate change, loss of food source
According to the City of Rockingham council, “the primary cause of the significant decrease” in penguin numbers is thought to be “the increasingly warmer water impacting on the penguin’s food sources” as a result of changing climatic conditions.
“Other factors likely to be contributing to the decline include injuries caused by watercraft, and increasing land temperatures,” council said in a 2024 statement.
Mayor Deb Hamblin said in May the City will be working closely with the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBC) to support the conservation of the little penguins in the future.
“The little penguin species and Penguin Island itself are iconic to the City of Rockingham,” Hamblin told media. “We look forward to working with the state government, which has responsibility for the management of Penguin Island and the Shoalwater Islands Marine Park, and other stakeholders to ensure the long term sustainability of the population.”
Yahoo News Australia has contacted the City of Rockingham council for an update on conservation efforts, including whether prohibiting visitors to Penguin Island will be considered.
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