Penguin species of different genera from top-left, clockwise: Emperor penguin ( Aptenodytes forsteri), snares penguin ( Eudyptes robustus), little penguin ( Eudyptula minor), yellow-eyed penguin ( Megadyptes antipodes), gentoo penguin ( Pygoscelis papua), African penguin ( Spheniscus demersus)īreeding range of penguins, all species (aqua) some species have wider seasonal migration ranges Both parents feed and care for the young.Possible Cretaceous origin according to molecular data.Often they have the same mate for life.While excellent swimmers, they cannot fly.They weigh just 1 kg and are only 30 – 40 cm tall.They are the smallest type of penguin in the world.Little Penguins are also called Fairy Penguins.Never moor close to the shore where penguins breed.Watch penguins from a safe distance, so you don’t disturb them.Maintain your boat to help stop fuel and oil leaking into the water.If you have a boat, reduce speed to 4 knots or less near penguins.Never put oil or chemicals down the drain.Keep noise or light to a minimum near the shore and on the water.Keep your dog away from where they live and all protected areas.If you live near Little Penguins there’s a lot you can do to be a buddy: Boats moored or rafted together, which create a barrier between their nests and the water.Plastic and other rubbish that entangles, injures and even suffocates Little Penguins.Discarded fishing line and hooks – which strangle Little Penguins or injure their flippers and feet.Feral cats and foxes – which hunt Little Penguins in their burrows.Dogs on the foreshore – which can kill or frighten adult penguins, leaving chicks without care.Clean healthy water, with lots of seagrass brimming with anchovies, pilchards, squid and krill.Quiet after dark – so they can get safely from their burrows into the water to find food and back again.Some personal space – especially around their burrows during breeding season.In the water oil spills, damage to sea grass beds, plastic and other debris can become a hazard. What can really spell trouble for the breeding colonies though is a human neighbourhood with its noise, disturbance, development, weeds overgrowing their burrows, dogs and foxes.

Their natural predators are leopard seals, sea lions, orcas and sea eagles who take the occasional penguin at sea. The penguins of Phillip Island, Victoria give visitors a nightly display during the penguin parade.īeing somewhat clumsy and poorly camouflaged on land is not the only safety hazard in a Little Penguin’s life. When they come ashore, however, the birds’ dark upper plumage stands out distinctively against the sand – one of the reasons why the Little Penguins wait until dark before they return to their burrows. So, you are extremely unlikely to find one in your own backyard, but you can help keep them safe if they live nearby. Most colonies are on islands, with only scattered locations left on the mainland. Most breeding pairs live in colonies, although some nest on their own. The Little Penguin’s Latin name Eudyptula minor means ‘good little diver’, an accurate description of this species. By comparison, the Emperor Penguin, the largest of the world’s 18 penguin species, weighs up to 38 kg. Their average lifespan is 7 years but some are believed to live to the ripe old age of 20 in the wild.Īustralia’s Little Penguin is the world’s smallest penguin.Ī lightweight of just about 1kg, it is also called the Fairy Penguin.A lightweight of just about 1kg, it is also called the Fairy Penguin. Australia’s Little Penguin is the world’s smallest penguin.That’s why all penguin nesting areas around Manly have been declared ‘critical habitat’. So the Manly colony is even more special – and worth protecting. Other colonies do exist, but on islands off the coast. But today the colony at Manly is the last one on mainland New South Wales. This camouflage – something they have in common with the Great White Shark – makes them almost invisible from above as well as from below as they zoom through the water catching fish.Īll penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere, from the South Pole to the equatorial Galapagos Islands.Īustralia’s own Little Penguin lives along the southern edge of mainland Australia and in Tasmania, and it also occurs in New Zealand and the Chatham Islands. Their upper parts and back are greyish blue, while their underside is white. With a body shaped like a torpedo, its wings transformed into flippers, and its plumage waterproof, the Little Penguin is perfectly adapted for life at sea.

Penguin natural predators