Penguins head for South West town

July 30, 2012 

Aleisha Orr

This Fiordland penguin washed up on a Denmark beach this month, the sixth penguin to arrive in the WA town this year.

Driving to the other part of town for a nice meal is one thing, but travelling 3500 kilometres in search of food is quite another – but not so in the case of two adventurous penguins.

A Fiordland penguin from New Zealand washed up on Denmark beach on Saturday.
It was the second kiwi penguin to find its way to the small south west town in the past two weeks and the seventh penguin to arrive there this year.

Another of the Fiordland penguins that washed up in Denmark earlier this year.

Denmark veterinarian David Edmonds said the latest arrival was found at a stretch of beach near Torbay, known as Dingoes.
A surfer found the animal and brought it to his clinic.
Two weeks beforehand, a woman found another Fiordland penguin on a beach at Williams Bay.
Both penguins, while having few injuries, were underweight.

The first was just half the size that it should have been at 1.4 kilograms.
The second was slightly bigger, weighing a little more than 2 kilograms.
"They could've been looking for food and gone off track because there was not enough food," Dr Edmonds said.

He said penguins usually ate squid, fish and krill.
"There is a genuine concern that numbers are decreasing because of decreased food sources which may be a result of over-fishing," Dr Edmonds said.
He said the clinic had also looked after four northern rock hopper penguins that arrived in the area in January.

The northern rock hoppers would have come from the opposite direction of the kiwi penguins; they live in the Amsterdam and St Paul islands 3500 kilometres west of WA.
Dr Edmonds was also aware of another penguin being looked after by an animal carer in Albany.
He said the number of penguins reaching the area was high this year, compared to just one last year.
The two penguins still at Denmark Veterinary Clinic are expected to be released next week once their health improves and they have gained weight.

"We will take them out a couple of kilometres from land and let them go," he said.
Dr Edmonds said while it was not known how penguins managed to navigate such long distances; the penguins had the ability to find their way back to New Zealand if they survived the long distance swim.

"We're just hoping to get them healthy so they have their best chance."
He said he expected that the two would make their way back home separately despite plans for them to be released together.
"They don't tend to stick together," he said.

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