The Daily Telegraph
July 13, 2009 12:01am
SNIPERS will patrol the beach to protect Sydney's endangered little penguins as CSI-style forensics are used to find the killer - or killers - of nine of the colony at Manly.
An investigation into the penguin deaths at North Head was dramatically stepped up yesterday after another little penguin was found mauled to death on Quarantine Beach on Saturday.
It was the ninth from an endangered colony of just 60 pairs killed by either a dog or fox in the past 10 days.
Four dead penguins were found last Friday and a further four in following days.
Autopsies at Taronga Zoo had confirmed the penguin's injuries were consistent with a dog or fox attack.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service contracted two gunmen armed with .22 calibre rifles to patrol Quarantine Beach and surrounding areas late last night after fox tracks were found in the area.
The shooters will return to the area again tonight.
Manly council has also enlisted the services of Australia's only animals forensics experts to try to find the animal responsible.
They hoped DNA swabs taken from the dead penguins would identify the breed of dog involved.
If a dog matching the description is identified, council have the authority to execute a warrant at the owner's address to sample the dog's DNA.
If it matched that taken from the penguins, the dog owner faced heavy fines and possible criminal charges.
Attacks on the penguins took place on private beaches with no public access, making the population difficult to monitor.
But a group of vigilante activists from the Manly Environment Centre have vowed to do "whatever it takes" to protect the penguins and have enlisted an army of 30 volunteers to watch over the penguins night and day.
Group spokeswoman Angelika Treichler said the attacks were occurring about dusk, when the penguins returned from their fishing trips, and during mating.
"They are being attacked when they have a full belly of fish, or when they are mating out of their burrows and not really paying attention," Ms Treichler said.
Sydney is home to eight colonies of endangered species, ranging from bandicoots and ospreys to frogs and squirrel gliders.
WIRES spokeswoman Jilea Carney said pet owners should keep domestic animals separated from wildlife at all times by locking them inside at night, attaching double bells to cat collars and never allowing a dog to roam in or near a national park.
National Parks and Wildlife director Sally Barnes said animals should be reported immediately.
"We are appealing to all dog owners in the region to be particularly vigilant," Ms Barnes said.
"The loss of any penguins in this fragile community is terrible."
Source:
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25770457-421,00.html
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