Fairy Penguins Offer Hope

By Amy Sinatra Ayres | vetstreet.com


A year after dozens of little penguins, also known as fairy penguins, were killed by dogs at the Derwent Estuary in Tasmania, scientists are hopeful that they can rebuild the birds' population.

"If you take out half of the birding population that's taken 10 years to build, these small events can be very significant," said researcher Luke Eindoder. "We really have been set back in time. It will take a number of years for the numbers to recover to what they were a few years ago."

He and other researchers are using scopes to check on the chicks in the estuary, and they're cautiously optimistic about an increase in the numbers of penguins. The estuary has added signage and fencing to keep pets out of the area. - Watch it from the AP via the Washington Post

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