Woman who tried to save injured little penguin laments lack of resources for wildlife rescue services

• John Morcombe
• Manly Daily
• September 05, 2014 

Bronwyn Morris
 

THE woman who rescued an injured and distressed little penguin at Manly Cove last Thursday is lamenting the lack of resources for wildlife rescue services.

The little penguin had been attacked by a seal or a shark and could not be saved, but it wasn’t for want of trying by Manly’s Bronwyn Morris. “I was picking up rubbish on the beach when a passer-by told me there was an ­injured penguin,” she said.

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“As I approached it, I saw a crow and a pelican nearby ready to eat it because it was in a bad way. I had some plastic, so I moved it up the beach up a bit. A council worker was nearby and asked I asked him for a box. He didn’t have one but then some other council workers arrived with a box.” She said in the meantime, people had called WIRES.

“We waited for about 30 minutes but no one came,” she said. “It was pouring rain and the workers wanted to get on with their job, so I said I’d take it home, which is only 10 minutes away. I rang WIRES again and gave them my address but then they rang back and said they had no one in the area and asked me if I could take the penguin to a vet nearby, which I did. The vet said the penguin would have to be euthanased because its injuries were so bad. He said it had probably been attacked by a shark or a seal. We’re from Brisbane, so to come to live at Manly and find penguins live nearby is such wonderful thing. But the wildlife rescue services are so underfunded – it’s such a shame.”

A spokeswoman said anyone finding a sick or injured penguin should call the National Parks and Wildlife Service on 9457 9577.

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