Penguin Island is a island off the coast near Perth, approximately from Shoalwater. It is home to a colony of approximately 250

little penguin The little penguin (''Eudyptula minor'') is a species of penguin from New Zealand. They are commonly known as little blue penguins or blue penguins owing to their slate-blue plumage and are also known by their Māori name . The Australian lit ...

s, the largest population of the birds in Western Australia. Since 2007, the island had experienced an 80 percent decline in penguin numbers from a peak of 1,700 that year. The waters surrounding the island make up the

Shoalwater Islands Marine Park The Shoalwater Islands Marine Park is a protected marine park located in Western Australia and stretches from the northern point of the Garden Island Causeway to the southern point of Becher Point. The marine park is located offshore from the ...

Transport

Regular ferries carry tourists to and from the island and other marine-park sights, the journey taking 5 minutes from Mersey point. The island can also be reached by private boat, kayaking, swimming, or walking across a

sandbar In oceanography, geomorphology, and Earth science, geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank (geography), bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body o ...

, most of which is under varying depths of water. The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPAW) advises against the sandbar walk, as weather conditions can change quickly making the crossing dangerous, which has resulted in several drownings.

Facilities

There is a picnic area with seating and water taps, and waterless

composting toilet A composting toilet is a type of dry toilet that treats human waste by a biological process called composting. This process leads to the decomposition of organic matter and turns human waste into compost-like material. Composting is carried ou ...

s on the island. Litter bins are not provided on the island and all visitors are required to take away their own rubbish. This is to remove potential food sources for destructive animals such as black rats, which have previously led to a reduction in the penguin population. In 2013 a successful baiting program was conducted to eliminate a rat population that had become established on the island. A discovery centre was built on the island in 1995. In 2021, a new A$3.3 million discovery centre was proposed by the Western Australian Government and originally supported by the

City of Rockingham The City of Rockingham is a council and local government area, comprising the south coastal suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth. History Rockingham is located in the southern part of the traditional tribal territory of the ...

. The building proposal on the island faced local opposition and resulted in the City of Rockingham withdrawing its support in light of the declining penguin numbers and the concerns of the impact of the construction activities on the animals. In August 2022, the WA Government announced that it had abandoned its plans to build the discovery centre on the island. The existing discovery centre will also be demolished and its site rehabilitated.

Natural features

While the island's little penguins are the island's main attraction, many other nesting and roosting seabirds can be seen including a -strong colony of

pelican Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before s ...

s. Penguin Island's varied geographical features include cliffs, small

sea cave A sea cave, also known as a littoral cave, is a type of cave formed primarily by the wave action of the sea. The primary process involved is erosion. Sea caves are found throughout the world, actively forming along present coastlines and as relic ...

headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, John ...

s, beaches, coves, notches and

natural bridge A natural arch, natural bridge, or (less commonly) rock arch is a natural landform where an arch has formed with an opening underneath. Natural arches commonly form where inland cliffs, coastal cliffs, fins or stacks are subject to erosion fr ...

s. There are also numerous

wave-cut platform A wave-cut platform, shore platform, coastal bench, or wave-cut cliff is the narrow flat area often found at the base of a sea cliff or along the shoreline of a lake, bay, or sea that was created by erosion. Wave-cut platforms are often most obv ...

s. Significant areas of Penguin Island include North Rock, Pelican Bluff, North Beach, McKenzies Well, South Beach, Abalone Point, and Surfers Beach. There are numerous lookouts, boardwalks and walkways throughout most of the island. Some areas are fenced off to the public to protect wildlife and lessen dune erosion.

Penguin Island Board Walk and Walk Trail

The Penguin Island Walk Trail is a trail that loops around the island. The walking trail starts at the Penguin Island Discovery Center and includes several lookout points from where some of the terrestrial and marine animals can be observed.

Little penguin colony

In the 19th and 20th centuries, the penguins of Penguin Island were victims of dog attacks and shooting by holiday-makers. An informal assessment of the Penguin Island colony was made by

Vincent Serventy Vincent Noel Serventy AM (6 January 1916 – 8 September 2007) was an Australian author, ornithologist and conservationist. Life and career Born in Armadale, Western Australia, the youngest of eight children of migrant Croatian parents ...

in 1946. After several visits, he estimated the colony to number approximately pairs. In the 1940s concern was expressed for the viability of the penguin colony on Penguin Island, due to combined threats of human landing parties with guns and dogs, occasional fires, and an abundance of rabbits which were denuding the island of its former vegetation and accelerating its erosion. Rabbits were believed to have been introduced to the island in the 1920s, and numbered approximately four to five thousand in the late 1940s. By 1950, it had become an illegal act to take a dog to Penguin Island. Penguins were present on Penguin Island in the 1890s, 1900s, 1910s and 1920s.

Australian sea lion The Australian sea lion (''Neophoca cinerea''), also known as the Australian sea-lion or Australian sealion, is a species of sea lion that is the only endemic pinniped in Australia. It is currently monotypic in the genus ''Neophoca'', with the e ...

s were also known to haul out on the island around this time. In the 21st century, spotting wild little penguins at the island is unusual as for most of the year, daylight hours are spent at sea chasing fish, and visitors are strictly prohibited from being on the island except during specified daylight hours from mid-September to early June. The little penguin population which breeds on Penguin Island is genetically distinct and in decline. In 2007 there were between 1600 and 2000 little penguins on Penguin Island during breeding months. By 2011, the number had dropped to about 1000, and by 2022 to about 250. Penguins have been observed taking longer foraging trips leading to chick malnutrition and starvation. Prey depletion and climate change are considered to be major pressures on the breeding population. A proposal to construct a marina at Point Peron is also considered a future threat. Little penguins also breed on nearby Garden Island, to the north. The two colonies are considered as a single meta-population. In 2007, the meta-population was estimated to include a total of 2369 individuals.

Rescued penguins

A small population of rescued penguins are kept in a dedicated enclosure on the island (known as the Discovery Centre) for visitors to the island to observe. The enclosure was built by the Department of Environment and Conservation in 1987. As well as being a sanctuary to care for injured wild penguins, it is also the home of 10 resident penguins that have been badly injured, orphaned as chicks or born in captivity, and are thus unlikely to survive in the wild. The enclosure has been designed to reflect the natural sandy, coastal scrub environment of the penguins and includes a saltwater pond with viewing panels to watch the little penguins swim. Penguin feedings are held three times daily by a park ranger.

Image gallery

Image:Penguin-island.jpg, Penguin Island from Coast Image:Penguin Island FromWA.jpg, Penguin Island from Western Australia Image:penguins933cue.jpg, Little penguins Image:Pelicans920lg.jpg, Pelicans on Penguin Island Image:Pelicans925lg.jpg, Pelicans and cormorants File:Penguin Island caves.jpg, Pelican colony and caves Image:Seal Island924lg.JPG, Neighbouring Seal Island

References

External links

Shoalwater Islands Marine ParkRockingham Penguins--Wild Encounters site
Car-free zones in Oceania City of Rockingham Islands of the Perth region (Western Australia) Landmarks in Perth, Western Australia Shoalwater Marine Park