April 2008

26 April 2008
Fairy penguin drops in for a visit
(South Africa)
A juvenile little penguin was found stranded at Cape Henderson in what is possibly a first recording along the South African coast for the species. Only half the size of South Africa's endemic African penguin, the little penguin is found in southern Australia and New Zealand, so the tiny visitor is a long way from home.
Read Daily Dispatch Online article

25 April 2008
Penguin's wetsuit puts him back into the swim of things
(USA)
Pierre, a 25-year-old African penguin at the California Academy of Sciences, was going bald. Without his waterproof feathers, he was reluctant to swim and ended up shivering on the sidelines. But a specially-designed wetsuit has helped him dive right back in.
Read Associated Press article at Yahoo News
Watch BBC News video

22 April 2008
Fears for penguin colony
(Australia)
A little penguin colony living in St Kilda in Victoria could get increased protection from vandals and dogs, but not from the contaminants that will be disturbed by the controversial channel deepening project. With dredging in the contaminated parts of the Yarra River to begin on 23 April, environment group Earthcare St Kilda has stepped up calls for the Port of Melbourne and the Brumby Government to increase monitoring of the penguins.
Read The Age article

12 April 2008
Seneca zoo is top breeder of penguins
(USA)
Penguins might join the list of Rochester, New York's top exports. The Seneca Park Zoo, which has 26 penguins, is among the top breeders of African penguins in North America. Since the zoo became part of a 'Species Survival Plan' for penguins in the 1990s, 46 chicks have hatched there, including seven this year.
Read Rochester Democrat & Chronicle article

9 April 2008
Oil spill survivor outlives average life expectancy
(Australia)
A little penguin rescued during the Iron Baron oil spill incident over a decade ago has gone on to live for more than double the average life expectancy for the species.
Although the penguin died earlier this year, his survival for almost 13 years after the major oil spill highlighted the value of the rehabilitation effort following the incident, which resulted in the death of between 10 000 and 20 000 penguins.
Read Tasmanian Government media release

4 April 2008
Penguin colony set to expand
(Australia)
Manly’s precious colony of endangered little penguins will get some more companions late next year. Taronga Zoo hopes to release more penguins hatched through its breeding program into the wild around Sydney Harbour.
Read The Manly Daily article

3 April 2008
To protect penguins, officials try training
(USA)
Sedgwick County Zoo officials are trying a tactic aimed at protecting their Humboldt penguins from avian malaria. Four birds died of it last summer, so this year keepers are training the birds to go inside at night to avoid mosquitoes, which can transmit the disease.
Read The Witchita Eagle article at kansas.com

2 April 2008
Holcim funding to safeguard penguins
(New Zealand)
An initiative being funded by Holcim (New Zealand) Ltd over the next five years aims to help safeguard the future of blue penguins on the West Coast. An agreement between Holcim and the West Coast Blue Penguin Trust will fund nesting boxes, predator control and support for important research into their migration and breeding patterns.
Read Holcim press release at scoop.co.nz

	Web penguin.net.nz