Little Penguin
Encyclopedia
The Little Penguin is the smallest species
of penguin
. The penguin, which usually grows to an average of 33 cm (13 in) in height and 43 cm (16.9 in) in length (though specific measurements vary by subspecies), is found on the coastlines of southern Australia
and New Zealand
, with possible records from Chile
.
Apart from Little Penguins, they have several common names. In Australia, they are also referred to as Fairy Penguins because of their tiny size. In New Zealand, they are also called Little Blue Penguins, or just Blue Penguins, owing to their slate
-blue plumage, and they are called Kororā in Māori
.
, Johann Reinhold Forster
in 1781. There are several subspecies
but a precise classification of these is still a matter of dispute. The holotype
s of the subspecies Eudyptula minor variabilis and Eudyptula minor chathamensis are in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
. The White-flippered Penguin
is sometimes considered a subspecies, sometimes a distinct species, and sometimes a morph. As the Australian and Otago (eastern South Island) Little Penguins seem to be a distinct species to which the specific name minor would apply, the White-flippered birds indeed belong to a distinct species, although not exactly as originally assumed.
Mitochondrial and nuclear
DNA evidence suggests the split between Eudyptula and Spheniscus occurred around 25 million years ago, with the ancestors of the White-flippered and Little Penguins diverging about 2.7 million years ago.
Like all penguins, the little penguin's wings have developed into flippers used for swimming. The Little Penguin typically grows to between 30 and 33 cm (12 to 13 inches) tall and usually weighs about 1.5 kilogram on average (3.3 pounds). The head and upperparts are blue in colour, with slate-grey ear coverts fading to white underneath, from the chin to the belly. The flippers are blue. The dark grey-black beak is 3–4 cm long, the irises pale silvery- or bluish-grey or hazel, and the feet pink above with black soles and webbing. An immature individual will have a shorter bill and lighter upperparts.
Like most seabirds, they have a long lifespan. The average for the species is 6.5 years, but flipper ringing
experiments show in very exceptional cases up to 25 years in captivity.
, the Chatham Islands
, and southern Australia
(including roughly 20,000 pairs on Babel Island
).
Little penguins have also been reported from Chile (where they are known as Pingüino pequeño or Pingüino azul) (Isla Chañaral
1996, Playa de Santo Domingo, San Antonio
, 16 March 1997) and South Africa, but it is unclear whether these birds were vagrants
.
Rough estimates (as new colonies continue to be discovered) of the world population are around 350,000-600,000 animals. The species is not considered endangered, except for the White-Flippered subspecies found only on Banks Peninsula and nearby Motunau Island in New Zealand. Since the 1960s, the mainland population has declined by 60-70%; though there has been a small increase on Motunau Island. But overall Little Penguin populations have been decreasing as well, with some colonies having been wiped out and other populations continuing to be at risk. However, new colonies have been established in urban areas.
The greatest threat to Little Penguin populations has been predation (including nest predation) from cats, dogs, mustelids, foxes, large reptiles, and possibly ferrets and stoats. Due to their diminutive size and the introduction of new predators, some colonies have been reduced in size by as much as 98% in just a few years, such as the small Fairy colony on Australia's Middle Island, which was reduced from 5000 penguins to 100. Because of this threat of colony collapse, conservationists pioneered an experimental technique using Maremma Sheepdog
s to protect the colony and fend off would-be predators.
Little Penguins mature at different ages. The female matures at 2 years old. However the male matures at 3 years old. Little Penguins only remain faithful to their partner in breeding seasons and whilst hatching eggs. At other times of the year they do tend to swap burrows. They exhibit site fidelity
to their nesting colonies and nesting sites over successive years.
Little Penguins live year-round in large colonies, with each individual breeding pair forming a burrow in which to raise their chicks (of which two are born at a time, usually about 2 days apart). One is the heir to the family and the other is the spare, in case anything was to happen to the first. Little Penguins typically return to their colonies to feed their chicks at dusk. The birds will tend to come ashore in small groups to provide some defense against predators which might pick off individuals one by one. In Australia, the strongest colonies are usually on cat-free and fox-free islands. However, the population on Granite Island (which is a fox, cat and dog-free island) has been severely depleted, from around 2000 penguins in the year of 2001 down to 146 in 2009.
South of Perth, Western Australia, visitors to Penguin Island are able to view penguins in a totally natural state. Less than one hour from the centre of the city it is possible to see Little Penguins in all months, including visiting sensitive areas where they remain on land for extended periods for the purposes of moulting.
At Phillip Island, southeast of Melbourne
, a viewing area has been set up at the Phillip Island Nature Park
to allow visitors to view the nightly "penguin parade". Lights and concrete stands have been erected to allow visitors to see but not photograph the birds interacting in their colony, who are not bothered by their spectators. The "parade", which stands as a very popular attraction, brings half a million visitors a year. A similar viewing area has been erected in the Otago
, New Zealand town of Oamaru
, where visitors may view the birds returning to their colony at dusk. In Oamaru it is not uncommon for penguins to nest within the cellars and foundations of local shorefront properties, especially in the old historic precinct of the town.
Visitors to Kangaroo Island, South Australia, have the nightly opportunity to commune with penguins at the Kangaroo Island Marine Centre in Kingscote and at the Penneshaw Penguin Centre. Several human-made enclosures have been made to support breeding and shelter, with several people clearing an area for the penguins and burying the huts, most notably The Knox School, when their efforts were filmed and broadcast in 2008 by Totally Wild
.
, the original creator of Linux
(a popular operating system kernel), was once bitten by a Little Penguin while on holiday in Australia. Reportedly, this encounter encouraged Torvalds to select Tux
as the official Linux mascot.
Penny the Little Penguin was the mascot for the 2007 FINA
World Swimming Championships held in Melbourne, Victoria.
There is a colony of Little Penguins at Sea World
, on the Gold Coast
, in Queensland
, Australia
. In early March, 2007, 25 of the 37 penguins died from an unknown toxin following a change of gravel in their enclosure. It is still not known what caused the deaths of the Little Penguins, and it was decided not to return the 12 surviving penguins to the same enclosure in which the penguins became ill.
A new enclosure for the Little Penguin colony was opened at Sea World in 2008.
s. A study done by researchers from the South Australian Research and Development Institute (based at the Waite campus of the University of Adelaide
) found that roughly 40 percent of seal droppings in South Australia's Granite Island
area contained Little Penguin remains.
Little Penguins on Middle Island in Warrnambool, Victoria
were subject to heavy predation by fox
es, which could reach the island at low tide
by a tidal sand bridge. The deployment of Maremma
sheepdogs to protect the penguin colony has deterred the foxes and enabled the penguin population to rebound. This is in addition to the support from groups of volunteers who work to protect the penguins from attack at night.
In Sydney, snipers have been deployed to protect a colony of Little Penguins. This effort is in addition to support from local volunteers who work to protect the penguins from attack at night.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of penguin
Penguin
Penguins are a group of aquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the southern hemisphere, especially in Antarctica. Highly adapted for life in the water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage, and their wings have become flippers...
. The penguin, which usually grows to an average of 33 cm (13 in) in height and 43 cm (16.9 in) in length (though specific measurements vary by subspecies), is found on the coastlines of southern Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, with possible records from Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
.
Apart from Little Penguins, they have several common names. In Australia, they are also referred to as Fairy Penguins because of their tiny size. In New Zealand, they are also called Little Blue Penguins, or just Blue Penguins, owing to their slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
-blue plumage, and they are called Kororā in Māori
Maori language
Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...
.
Taxonomy
The Little Penguin was first described by German naturalistNaturalist
Naturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...
, Johann Reinhold Forster
Johann Reinhold Forster
Johann Reinhold Forster was a German Lutheran pastor and naturalist of partial Scottish descent who made contributions to the early ornithology of Europe and North America...
in 1781. There are several subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
but a precise classification of these is still a matter of dispute. The holotype
Holotype
A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...
s of the subspecies Eudyptula minor variabilis and Eudyptula minor chathamensis are in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is the national museum and art gallery of New Zealand, located in Wellington. It is branded and commonly known as Te Papa and Our Place; "Te Papa Tongarewa" is broadly translatable as "the place of treasures of this land".The museum's principles...
. The White-flippered Penguin
White-flippered Penguin
The White-flippered Penguin is a small penguin about 30 cm tall and weighing 1.5 kg. It gains its name from the white markings on its flippers, unique to the subspecies...
is sometimes considered a subspecies, sometimes a distinct species, and sometimes a morph. As the Australian and Otago (eastern South Island) Little Penguins seem to be a distinct species to which the specific name minor would apply, the White-flippered birds indeed belong to a distinct species, although not exactly as originally assumed.
Mitochondrial and nuclear
Cell nucleus
In cell biology, the nucleus is a membrane-enclosed organelle found in eukaryotic cells. It contains most of the cell's genetic material, organized as multiple long linear DNA molecules in complex with a large variety of proteins, such as histones, to form chromosomes. The genes within these...
DNA evidence suggests the split between Eudyptula and Spheniscus occurred around 25 million years ago, with the ancestors of the White-flippered and Little Penguins diverging about 2.7 million years ago.
Description
Like most seabirds, they have a long lifespan. The average for the species is 6.5 years, but flipper ringing
Bird ringing
Bird ringing or bird banding is a technique used in the study of wild birds, by attaching a small, individually numbered, metal or plastic tag to their legs or wings, so that various aspects of the bird's life can be studied by the ability to re-find the same individual later...
experiments show in very exceptional cases up to 25 years in captivity.
Distribution and habitat
The Little Penguin breeds along the entire coastline of New ZealandNew Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, the Chatham Islands
Chatham Islands
The Chatham Islands are an archipelago and New Zealand territory in the Pacific Ocean consisting of about ten islands within a radius, the largest of which are Chatham Island and Pitt Island. Their name in the indigenous language, Moriori, means Misty Sun...
, and southern Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
(including roughly 20,000 pairs on Babel Island
Babel Island
Babel Island is a granite island, with an area of 440 ha located off the east coast of Flinders Island. It is part of the Furneaux Group Archipelago, at the eastern end of Bass Strait, between Victoria and Tasmania, Australia. It is privately owned.-Fauna:...
).
Little penguins have also been reported from Chile (where they are known as Pingüino pequeño or Pingüino azul) (Isla Chañaral
Isla Chañaral
Isla Chañaral , Chile is located 6 km off-shore from the northern Central Chilean coast, some 100 km north of the city of La Serena. Together with Isla Choros and Isla Damas, the island forms the Humboldt Penguin National Reserve, which is administered by the Chilean Forestry Corporation...
1996, Playa de Santo Domingo, San Antonio
San Antonio, Chile
San Antonio, meaning "Saint Anthony", is a major Chilean port and a commune in San Antonio Province, Valparaíso Region...
, 16 March 1997) and South Africa, but it is unclear whether these birds were vagrants
Vagrancy (biology)
Vagrancy is a phenomenon in biology whereby individual animals appear well outside their normal range; individual animals which exhibit vagrancy are known as vagrants. The term accidental is sometimes also used...
.
Rough estimates (as new colonies continue to be discovered) of the world population are around 350,000-600,000 animals. The species is not considered endangered, except for the White-Flippered subspecies found only on Banks Peninsula and nearby Motunau Island in New Zealand. Since the 1960s, the mainland population has declined by 60-70%; though there has been a small increase on Motunau Island. But overall Little Penguin populations have been decreasing as well, with some colonies having been wiped out and other populations continuing to be at risk. However, new colonies have been established in urban areas.
The greatest threat to Little Penguin populations has been predation (including nest predation) from cats, dogs, mustelids, foxes, large reptiles, and possibly ferrets and stoats. Due to their diminutive size and the introduction of new predators, some colonies have been reduced in size by as much as 98% in just a few years, such as the small Fairy colony on Australia's Middle Island, which was reduced from 5000 penguins to 100. Because of this threat of colony collapse, conservationists pioneered an experimental technique using Maremma Sheepdog
Maremma Sheepdog
The Maremma Sheepdog, in Italian Cane da pastore Maremmano-Abruzzese, usually referred to as just Maremmano, is a breed of livestock guardian dog indigenous to central Italy, particularly to Abruzzo and the Maremma region of Tuscany and Lazio. It has been used for centuries by Italian shepherds to...
s to protect the colony and fend off would-be predators.
Diet
These birds feed by hunting fish, squid and other small sea animals, for which they travel and dive quite extensively. They are generally inshore feeders. The use of dataloggers has provided information of the diving behaviour of Little Penguins. 50% of their dives go no deeper than 2 m and the mean diving time is 21 seconds. Yet, they are able to dive as deep as 20m and remained submerged as long as 60 sec.Reproduction
Philopatry
Broadly, philopatry is the behaviour of remaining in, or returning to, an individual's birthplace. More specifically, in ecology philopatry is the behaviour of elder offspring sharing the parental burden in the upbringing of their siblings, a classic example of kin selection...
to their nesting colonies and nesting sites over successive years.
Little Penguins live year-round in large colonies, with each individual breeding pair forming a burrow in which to raise their chicks (of which two are born at a time, usually about 2 days apart). One is the heir to the family and the other is the spare, in case anything was to happen to the first. Little Penguins typically return to their colonies to feed their chicks at dusk. The birds will tend to come ashore in small groups to provide some defense against predators which might pick off individuals one by one. In Australia, the strongest colonies are usually on cat-free and fox-free islands. However, the population on Granite Island (which is a fox, cat and dog-free island) has been severely depleted, from around 2000 penguins in the year of 2001 down to 146 in 2009.
Relationship with humans
At Phillip Island, southeast of Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, a viewing area has been set up at the Phillip Island Nature Park
Phillip Island Nature Park
Phillip Island Nature Park is a conservation park located on Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia. Created in 1996, the park is owned by the Victorian State Government, however it is a self-funding commercial attraction for the purpose of animal conservation and research.An oil spill off the island...
to allow visitors to view the nightly "penguin parade". Lights and concrete stands have been erected to allow visitors to see but not photograph the birds interacting in their colony, who are not bothered by their spectators. The "parade", which stands as a very popular attraction, brings half a million visitors a year. A similar viewing area has been erected in the Otago
Otago
Otago is a region of New Zealand in the south of the South Island. The region covers an area of approximately making it the country's second largest region. The population of Otago is...
, New Zealand town of Oamaru
Oamaru
Oamaru , the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is 80 kilometres south of Timaru and 120 kilometres north of Dunedin, on the Pacific coast, and State Highway 1 and the railway Main South Line connects it to both...
, where visitors may view the birds returning to their colony at dusk. In Oamaru it is not uncommon for penguins to nest within the cellars and foundations of local shorefront properties, especially in the old historic precinct of the town.
Visitors to Kangaroo Island, South Australia, have the nightly opportunity to commune with penguins at the Kangaroo Island Marine Centre in Kingscote and at the Penneshaw Penguin Centre. Several human-made enclosures have been made to support breeding and shelter, with several people clearing an area for the penguins and burying the huts, most notably The Knox School, when their efforts were filmed and broadcast in 2008 by Totally Wild
Totally Wild
Totally Wild is an Australian children's television series. It has been in production since 1992, airing on Network Ten since day one. It has the format of a news program, and does stories on topics such as Australia's native flora and fauna, action sports, the environment, science, and technology...
.
Mascots and logos
Linus TorvaldsLinus Torvalds
Linus Benedict Torvalds is a Finnish software engineer and hacker, best known for having initiated the development of the open source Linux kernel. He later became the chief architect of the Linux kernel, and now acts as the project's coordinator...
, the original creator of Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
(a popular operating system kernel), was once bitten by a Little Penguin while on holiday in Australia. Reportedly, this encounter encouraged Torvalds to select Tux
Tux
Tux is a penguin character and the official mascot of the Linux kernel. Originally created as an entry to a Linux logo competition, Tux is the most commonly used icon for Linux, although different Linux distributions depict Tux in various styles. In video games featuring the character, female...
as the official Linux mascot.
Penny the Little Penguin was the mascot for the 2007 FINA
International Swimming Federation
Fédération Internationale de Natation is the International Federation recognized by the International Olympic Committee for administering international competition in the aquatic sports...
World Swimming Championships held in Melbourne, Victoria.
Sea World
Sea World
Sea World is a marine mammal park, oceanarium, and theme park located on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It includes rides, animal exhibits and other attractions, and promotes conservation through education and through the rescue and rehabilitation of sick, injured or orphaned wildlife. The...
, on the Gold Coast
Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
, in Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. In early March, 2007, 25 of the 37 penguins died from an unknown toxin following a change of gravel in their enclosure. It is still not known what caused the deaths of the Little Penguins, and it was decided not to return the 12 surviving penguins to the same enclosure in which the penguins became ill.
A new enclosure for the Little Penguin colony was opened at Sea World in 2008.
Predators
Little Penguins in the wild are sometimes preyed upon by New Zealand fur sealNew Zealand Fur Seal
The Australian fur seal , or New Zealand fur seal or southern fur seal, is a species of fur seal found around the south coast of Australia, the coast of the South Island of New Zealand, and some of the small islands to the south and east of there...
s. A study done by researchers from the South Australian Research and Development Institute (based at the Waite campus of the University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
) found that roughly 40 percent of seal droppings in South Australia's Granite Island
Granite Island (Australia)
Granite Island is a small island next to Victor Harbor, South Australia, not far from South Australia's capital city, Adelaide.It is unpopulated, however there are buildings and shelters on the island, including a cafe...
area contained Little Penguin remains.
Little Penguins on Middle Island in Warrnambool, Victoria
Warrnambool, Victoria
-Cityscape:The original City of Warrnambool was a 4x8 grid, with boundaries of Lava Street , Japan Street , Merri Street and Henna Street . In the nineteenth century, it was intended that Fairy Street – with its proximity to the Warrnambool Railway Station – would be the main street of...
were subject to heavy predation by fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
es, which could reach the island at low tide
Tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the moon and the sun and the rotation of the Earth....
by a tidal sand bridge. The deployment of Maremma
Maremma Sheepdog
The Maremma Sheepdog, in Italian Cane da pastore Maremmano-Abruzzese, usually referred to as just Maremmano, is a breed of livestock guardian dog indigenous to central Italy, particularly to Abruzzo and the Maremma region of Tuscany and Lazio. It has been used for centuries by Italian shepherds to...
sheepdogs to protect the penguin colony has deterred the foxes and enabled the penguin population to rebound. This is in addition to the support from groups of volunteers who work to protect the penguins from attack at night.
In Sydney, snipers have been deployed to protect a colony of Little Penguins. This effort is in addition to support from local volunteers who work to protect the penguins from attack at night.
External links
- More Information on Little penguins @ New Zealand Penguins
- Little penguins from the International Penguin Conservation Web Site
- Philip Island Nature Park Web Site
- Gould'sJohn GouldJohn Gould was an English ornithologist and bird artist. The Gould League in Australia was named after him. His identification of the birds now nicknamed "Darwin's finches" played a role in the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection...
The Birds of Australia plate - Fairy Penguin on Google Video