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The East coast of Penguin Island, Western Australia, seen from the south by Calistemon –

Top 10 Interesting Facts about Penguin Island

Penguin Island is a 12.5-hectare (31-acre) island off the coast near Perth, approximately 660 meters from Shoalwater. It is home to a colony of approximately 250 little penguins, the largest population of the birds in Western Australia. 

The little penguin is a species of penguin from New Zealand. They are commonly known as little blue penguins or blue penguins owing to their slate-blue plumage and are also known by their M膩ori name koror膩.

The Australian little penguin from Australia and the Otago region of New Zealand is considered a separate species  Since 2007, the island had experienced an 80 percent decline in penguin numbers from a peak of 1,700 that year. The waters surrounding the island make up the Shoalwater Islands Marine Park.

Here are the top 10 interesting facts about Penguin Island. 

1. Penguin Island is 5 minutes from Mersey point

Regular ferries carry tourists to and from the island and other marine-park sights, the journey taking 5 minutes from Mersey point. The island can also be reached by private boat, kayaking, swimming, or walking across a 700-meter sandbar, most of which is under varying depths of water. 

The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPAW) advises against the sandbar walk, as weather conditions can change quickly making the crossing dangerous, which has resulted in several drownings.

2. A discovery center was built on Penguin Island in 1995

The picnic area on Penguin Island, Shoalwater Western Australia by Calistemon –

 In 2021, a new A$3.3 million discovery center was proposed by the Western Australian Government and originally supported by the City of Rockingham. The building proposal on the island faced local opposition and resulted in the City of Rockingham withdrawing its support in light of the declining penguin numbers and the concerns about the impact of the construction activities on the animals.

In August 2022, the government announced that it had abandoned its plans to build the discovery center on the island. The existing discovery center will also be demolished and its site rehabilitated.

3. Litter bins are not provided on Penguin Island

There is a picnic area with seating and water taps, and waterless composting toilets on the island. There is also a cafe called Pengo’s.

Litter bins are not provided on the island and all visitors are required to take away their own rubbish. This is to remove potential food sources for destructive animals such as black rats, which have previously led to a reduction in the penguin population. In 2013 a successful baiting program was conducted to eliminate a rat population that had become established on the island.

4. Penguin Island has a 500-strong colony of pelicans

The west coast of Penguin Island, Western Australia by Calistemon –

While the island’s little penguins are the island’s main attraction, many other nesting and roosting seabirds can be seen including a 500-strong colony of pelicans.

Pelicans are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before swallowing. 

The eight living pelican species have a patchy global distribution, ranging latitudinally from the tropics to the temperate zone, though they are absent from interior South America and from polar regions and the open ocean.

5. Penguin Island has varied geographical features

These include cliffs, small sea caves, headlands, beaches, coves, notches, and natural bridges. There are also numerous wave-cut platforms.

Significant areas of Penguin Island include North Rock, Pelican Bluff, North Beach, McKenzies Well, South Beach, Abalone Point, and Surfers Beach.

There are numerous lookouts, boardwalks, and walkways throughout most of the island. Some areas are fenced off to the public to protect wildlife and lessen dune erosion.

6. By 1950, it had become an illegal act to take a dog to Penguin Island

A boardwalk on Penguin Island, Shoalwater, Western Australia by Calistemon –

In the 19th and 20th centuries, the penguins of Penguin Island were victims of dog attacks and shooting by holidaymakers. An informal assessment of the Penguin Island colony was made by Vincent Serventy in 1946.

After several visits, he estimated the colony to number approximately 500 pairs. In the 1940s concern was expressed for the viability of the penguin colony on Penguin Island, due to combined threats of human landing parties with guns and dogs, occasional fires, and an abundance of rabbits which were denuding the island of its former vegetation and accelerating its erosion.

Rabbits were believed to have been introduced to the island in the 1920s and numbered approximately four to five thousand in the late 1940s. By 1950, it had become an illegal act to take a dog to Penguin Island.

7. The penguin population which breeds on Penguin Island is genetically distinct and in decline

 In 2007 there were between 1600 and 2000 little penguins on Penguin Island during breeding months. By 2011, the number had dropped to about 1000, and by 2022 to about 250.

Penguins have been observed taking longer foraging trips leading to chick malnutrition and starvation. Prey depletion and climate change are considered to be major pressures on the breeding population. A proposal to construct a marina at Point Peron is also considered a future threat.

8.  Penguins were present on Penguin Island from the 17th century

The southern end of Penguin Island, Western Australia by Calistemon –

Penguins were present on Penguin Island in the 1890s, 1900s, 1910s and 1920s.  Australian sea lions were also known to haul out on the island around this time.

Australian sea lion is a species of sea lion that is the only endemic pinniped in Australia. With a population estimated at around 14,730 animals, the Wildlife Conservation Act of Western Australia (1950) has listed them as 鈥渋n need of special protection鈥�. 

Their Conservation status is listed as endangered. These pinnipeds are specifically known for their abnormal breeding cycles, which are varied between a 5-month breeding cycle and a 17-18 month a seasonal breeding cycle, compared to other pinnipeds which fit into a 12-month reproductive cycle.

9. Penguin Island and Garden Island are considered a single meta-population

Little penguins also breed on nearby Garden Island, 6.5 kilometers (4.0 mi) to the north. The two colonies are considered as a single meta-population. In 2007, the meta-population was estimated to include a total of 2369 individuals.

Garden Island is a narrow island about 10 kilometers (6 mi) long and 1.5 kilometers (0.9 mi) wide, lying about 5 kilometers (3 mi) off the Western Australian coast, to which it is linked by an artificial causeway and bridge.

10. A small population of rescued penguins are kept in an enclosure on Penguin Island

The enclosure was built by the Department of Environment and Conservation in 1987. As well as being a sanctuary to care for injured wild penguins, it is also the home of 10 resident penguins that have been badly injured, orphaned as chicks, or born in captivity, and are thus unlikely to survive in the wild. 

The enclosure has been designed to reflect the natural sandy, the coastal scrub environment of the penguins and includes a saltwater pond with viewing panels to watch the little penguins swim. Penguin feedings are held three times daily by a park ranger.