Australia’s little penguin colony could lose up to 40% of population to bird flu

Australia’s little penguin colony could lose up to 40% of population to bird flu Volunteers at St Kilda colony expect to lose between a fifth and two-fifths of its 1,400 little penguins - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments Up to two in five of the little penguins at a colony in Australia’s Melbourne could die if H5 bird flu reaches the beach suburb, according to the volunteers who monitor them, days after Australia confirmed its first mass die-off of wildlife from the virus. About 1,400 little penguins nest in the rocks of the breakwater at St Kilda where crowds gather at dusk to watch the birds come ashore. Little penguins are the smallest of the world's penguin species, standing about 30cm tall, and Victoria holds most of the Australian population, including the larger colony on Phillip Island. "The estimates we're looking at is between 20 to 40 per cent of the population," Lana Austin, president of the volunteer group Earthcare St Kilda, told 774 ABC Radio Melbourne. It is not yet known how the strain affects penguins. Australia has confirmed 78 cases of H5 in wild seabirds, all of them since the virus reached the country earlier this year, according to the federal agriculture department. Seven of those are in Victoria, in crested terns found at Portland and Nelson on the south-west coast. The first mass mortality event was confirmed on Monday at Baudin Rocks, a small island off the South Australian coast, where aerial surveillance found about 50 dead birds and 30 sick ones. Samples from five greater crested terns and a silver gull tested positive at the CSIRO's Centre for Disease Preparedness. Hours later, Victorian authorities reported a cluster of dead and sick crested terns in the Glenelg River estuary near Nelson and across Lawrence Rocks, and further testing is under way. The area holds a breeding colony of Australasian gannets, seal colonies and a wetland of international importance. "Last week we talked about individual detections, the first cases of the H5 bird flu in Victoria. We are now seeing a change as the disease spreads out and has further impacts," the state's chief veterinary officer, Graeme Cooke, told reporters on Monday. Environment minister, Murray Watt, said further die-offs were likely. "I want to level with people: this is the beginning of what is likely to be a long, difficult journey in terms of the impacts on wildlife," he said, adding that wild birds and animals could not be stopped from moving and that the response lay in building the resilience of native populations. The strain reached Australia last, after spreading through Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Antarctica since 2021. Britain lost large numbers of seabirds in the outbreaks of 2021 and 2022, when great skua and gannet colonies in Scotland were badly hit and thousands of dead birds washed up along the coast. No cases have been found in Australian poultry, though farmers in some areas have moved flocks indoors as a precaution. Worldwide, the virus is estimated to have killed about 140 million farmed birds. Human infections remain rare and usually follow close contact with infected birds or their droppings. Lara Herrero, an associate professor in virology at Griffith University, told the Australian Associated Press that poultry workers and wildlife carers were the most exposed group, and that the virus spread in much the same way as human flu, through airborne droplets and bodily fluids. Victorian authorities have asked the public not to touch sick or dead birds and to report sightings to the state's emergency animal disease hotline, noting that community reports are helping surveillance teams track where the virus has reached. Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments