Multiple 'distressing' discoveries at popular beaches spark concern

A marine bird conservationist said protecting remaining little penguin populations around Australian waters is more crucial now than ever.

Two little penguins are seen deceased at Tasmania beaches among sea debris.
Multiple deceased little penguins have washed ashore in Tasmania in recent days, prompting experts to encourage sightings to be reported. Source: Adrift Lab

Australians are being encouraged to report any seabirds found washed ashore in coastal areas to conservationists, following the discovery of several deceased juvenile little penguins that have left a southern community deeply saddened.

This week, multiple little penguins — at least a dozen reported, but likely more — were found along the shoreline across a number of beaches in Tasmania. Local research group Adrift Lab shared the images online, prompting concerned residents to question why the little birds were turning up dead.

"The birds are fresh, which suggests more will wash up over coming days," researchers wrote online.

Upset Tasmanian locals took to the comments to share photos they'd taken of deceased little penguins on the state's beaches, with many expressing their distress, asking what might have caused the tragic loss.

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Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, Sean Dooley from Birdlife Australia said that while the discoveries are sad, "it seems there is nothing to be too concerned about" in this instance. He explained that the team "hadn't noticed any significant or unusual spike in penguin mortality this summer."

A deceased juvenile little penguin at a beach in Tasmania.
While sad, the reported sightings are not out of the ordinary for this time of year, industry specialists say. Source: Adrift Lab

However, he decided to investigate further, reviewing various databases and consulting with a few colleagues to determine if there were any signs of a serious issue affecting the little penguin population.

"As distressing as it is to find individuals washed up dead, from what I can see, the numbers of dead penguins washing up is within the normal range for mortalities at this time of year," Dooley told Yahoo.

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"It is likely that most of the birds involved are juveniles that have recently fledged and are out at sea foraging for food independently for the first time. It can be a tough life for a penguin and there is a reasonably high mortality rate of chicks in their first few months at sea as many are unable to hunt sufficient food."

Dooley said that personally, he recently found "two freshly dead penguins washed up on the tide between Anglesea and Aireys Inlet".

A deceased juvenile little penguin at a beach in Tasmania.
There is a reasonably high mortality rate of chicks in their first months at sea, as many are unable to hunt sufficient food. Source: Adrift Lab

"Both birds were likely to have been juveniles as they were in really fresh, dapper plumage. But this was two individuals in close to a week of beach-walking so as sad as it was, it wasn't anything for me to be unduly worried," he said.

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"Some seasons are more sever than others and availability of prey for the penguins can be affected by changes in currents and water temperature.

"It is important that people try and report any sightings of beach-washed birds to allow us to monitor for any serious 'wrecks' and to establishing a baseline for what is a typical rate of mortality."

He encouraged all Australians to report sightings of dead birds to BirdLife Australia's Beach-washed Birds portal or to Adrift Lab, or Phillip Island Nature Park.

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