Little Penguins on Kangaroo Island Are Increasing

The article is written by Caroline Horn.

It is from ABC South East SA.

The topic is animals.

The article was published on May 23, 2026, at 7:29 am.

A little penguin was seen at Vivonne Bay in 2025.

Here is a short summary:

There are about 704 little penguins on Kangaroo Island now.

This is more than in 2024, but less than in 2011.

What happens next?

Researchers will keep watching the penguins.

Kangaroo Island used to have many little penguins.

But life is hard for them because of humans, cats, and other dangers.

A team looked for penguin homes among the rocks.

The penguin population is getting better after a bad year in 2024.

There were 352 homes found, which means about 704 adult penguins.

In 2024, there were 540 penguins, and in 2011, there were 1,348.

Little penguins make their homes in rocky areas like Stokes Bay.

Eight groups of penguins were studied, including the big one at Emu Bay.

There is good news for the penguins on Granite Island too.

The results are good, but we need to wait and see what happens next.

The algal bloom and hot water made it hard for the penguins.

We need to keep watching the penguins.

The team is working with the community to help the penguins.

The algal bloom hurt the food that penguins eat, like squid.

But penguins also eat fish that can swim away from the algae.

It's good to see that the penguins are eating enough.

A little penguin chick was seen in 2025.

The biggest group of penguins is at Emu Bay with 332 birds.

But in the past, there were many more penguins.

The penguins were studied in eight groups on the island.

The biggest town, Kingscote, has a penguin group that has been studied for a long time.

In 2007, there were 868 penguins in Kingscote, but now there are fewer.

A penguin expert, Dr. Diane Colombelli-Negrel, is happy to see more penguins.

Dr. Colombelli-Negrel has been studying penguins for over 10 years.

She is happy to see that the penguins are increasing on both Kangaroo and Granite islands.

We need to see what happens in the future.

The community is helping the penguins.

People are working together to help the penguins.

Young people are helping to build homes for the penguins.

Volunteers are removing weeds and planting native plants.

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Cats are a big problem for penguins.

The landscape board is trying to remove cats from the island.

It will be interesting to see how the penguins do without cats.

Cats are the main predators on the island.

The penguins will be studied every year.

The studies will help if the penguins get bird flu.

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The article was published on May 23, 2026, at 7:29 am.

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