Fox kills 26 penguins at North Head, despite efforts of shooters, trapping dogs and guards

• John Morcombe
• Manly Daily
• June 26, 2015

A SINGLE thrill-killing fox has wiped out 26 little penguins at North Head in the past 11 days and eluded all attempts to catch or kill it, including two snipers and tracker dogs. 
 
The fox has avoided baits and traps, as well as the snipers, so nearly 100 National Parks and Wildlife Staff and local volunteers having been standing guard over the vulnerable penguins’ nests just as their breeding season begins.

A NPWS spokeswoman said there was no doubt a single fox was responsible for the slaughter, with necropsies, paw prints and infra-red camera footage indicating just one fox had entered the national park and attacked the penguins.

A screen shot of the fox that has killed 26 little penguins at North Head Pic credit: NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service

 

She said the killer was “definitely a fox and very clever”.

“It’s avoided all routine and specialist management strategies that other foxes have fallen for in the past,” she said. “It’s trap-shy and bait-shy. And it’s thrill-killing because it’s not eating them. We have two shooters on roster, one at a time, and staff and volunteers are sitting near the nests at night to protect them.”

Last year there were 67 breeding pairs at North Head — or 134 birds in total — of which some are microchipped so they can be monitored. But the NPWS believes that figure represents only three-quarters of the penguins breeding at North Head.

The penguins have been picked off by a wily fox.

 

Only 10 of the 26 penguins the fox has killed in the past 11 days are microchipped, so the NPWS is uncertain how many of the dead penguins normally breed at North Head, who many are fledglings returning to their place of birth and how many are newcomers from the wild.

She said the 26 dead penguins had been killed in batches of six or seven at a time, although there had been no deaths in the past five nights. “We’re throwing everything at this,” she said. “We’ve got lots of cameras up there, we’ve got lots of very supportive staff and volunteers and we’re throwing every possible resource we have into getting this fox.”

NPWS ranger Mel Tyas and penguin warden Sally Garman on Collins Flat — which 26 penguins have been killed by a fox

 

NPWS ranger Mel Tyas said the penguins are being protected by a team of people, including NPWS staff, fox control experts and community penguin wardens.

She said up to 95 people have been working day and night and taking every possible action to protect the little penguins. “The community has been fantastic,” she said. “The NPWS has been supported by the adjoining land managers and council and a team of wonderful local community volunteer penguin wardens who are monitoring specific sites and guarding the little penguins at night.”

North Head is a tranquil part of the northern beaches. Picture: Google Maps

 

In 1990 there were just 35 little penguins nesting in the national park at North Head, which is the only mainland colony in NSW. Since then, the number had increased to at least 134 birds last year, although there have been years when dogs, cats or foxes have killed up to 11 birds in a season.

The NPWS employed two marksmen in 2009 after nine penguins were killed by dogs and/or foxes
The little penguins’ breeding season general runs from June to February.

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