MIDDLE
Island Warrnambool was merely a backwater blip on the global scientific
barometer until a brave trial using Maremma dogs to save endangered
penguins from extinction.
Dr Anne Wallis presented Middle Island’s penguin story at Oxford University. 140818DW30 Picture: DAMIAN WHITE
The success not only triggered international media interest, but sent ripples through the scientific community.
Now
it has gone to the hallowed halls of Oxford University, where two
lecturers from Deakin University’s Warrnambool campus received an
enthusiastic response to a presentation on the project this month.
Dr
Anne Wallis spoke at the prestigious Oxford Round Table attended by
representatives from several nations, bringing humour to her
presentation by calling it “The little blue fairy penguin and the big
bad fox.”
Accompanied by colleague Dr Julie
Mondon, the presentation opened opportunity for the work to be
recognised in an academic journal for the first time.
Dr
Wallis, who has written a 4800-word draft manuscript on the project,
has received an invitation to publish from a US-based journal, which
would then open doors to other well-respected publications.
“There are exciting opportunities,” Dr Wallis told The Standard yesterday. “Publication in a scientific journal would make the project story available to a much wider audience. “The
round table theme was about sustainability and for some of the issues
like ours it’s about grassroots activity which finds solutions. “With
community support you can accomplish a lot. There were benefits we
never ever anticipated — tourism and publicity spin-offs.”
Deakin
University was involved in the lead-up and implementation of the 2006
trial when two Maremma dogs, previously used to guard commercial
poultry, were taken to the island to ward off foxes and stray dogs.
Penguin numbers since 1999 had fallen from 500-plus to only four. However,
the bold conservation experiment almost came undone a year later when
10 birds were found dead and some people blamed the dogs. “There
was a risk in putting the dogs out on the island, but it was no greater
risk than allowing foxes to take the last few penguins,” Dr Wallis
said. Since the introduction of the guard dogs, penguin numbers have
risen to about 180.
Several international
media outlets have written or filmed the island and dogs and in May a
film crew arrived to shoot scenes for a cinematic production called
Oddball which is due for release next year.
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