The Penguins of Warrnambool
Watch as the Little Penguin colony's life and death saga unfolds.
Almost wiped out a few years ago, the colony is now thriving under the watchful eyes of two guard dogs: Eudy & Tula. The two Maremmas (Italian sheep dogs) are fierce with foxes but gentle with penguins. A devoted team from the Warrnambool Coastcare and Landcare Group monitor the colony.
Exceptional love stories are played out every season as adult birds risk their lives daily just to feed each other and nurture an egg. They will take turns to head into freezing Southern ocean waters with nothing but a matted pelt of downy feathers to keep warm, searching for tiny baitfish and squid.
If they're lucky, both partners will survive. The tiny chicks born underground will spend several weeks with only a small window to the outside.
Parents' success at sea and their ability work together is the key to survival in a world where as few as one in ten chicks will reach adult hood. If they make it through harsh weather and avoid the penguin's super-predators (cats, foxes and dogs), they will begin their own courting, mating and breeding cycle to raise a family themselves in the coming seasons.
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