How Can You Help the St Kilda Penguins?
The St Kilda little penguin colony is wild and self-sustaining, but it lives right next to a busy inner-city beach, and that comes with real risks. Everything below is something you can actually do – most of it costs nothing.
1. Keep your distance and skip the flash
Watch from behind the viewing boardwalk railings, never approach a penguin, and never use flash photography, torches or phone lights near the breakwater. Bright light startles penguins and disturbs them at their nests. Non-flash photography is fine.
2. Keep dogs on a lead and off the breakwater
Dogs are allowed on St Kilda Pier on a lead, but dogs and cats are banned from the breakwater at all times. Keep your dog on a short lead the whole time you’re on the pier, because a single dog getting among the rocks can do serious harm to nesting penguins.
3. Take your rubbish, especially plastic, with you
Discarded fishing line, plastic rings and food packaging left on the foreshore end up in the harbour and can entangle or poison penguins and other wildlife. If you see litter near the breakwater, bag it and bin it – even if it isn’t yours. Our penguin entanglement guide shows what that litter does to a penguin and what to do if you find a tangled bird.
4. Report an injured or distressed penguin
If you find a penguin that looks sick, injured or entangled, don’t approach or handle it yourself. Call the Zoos Victoria Marine Response Unit on 1300 245 678, and tell a guide if you’re at a viewing session. For other native wildlife, Wildlife Victoria’s 24/7 line is (03) 8400 7300.
5. Volunteer with Earthcare St Kilda
Earthcare St Kilda is the not-for-profit that has researched and protected this colony since 1989. They’re always looking for volunteer penguin guides and helpers for the annual survey season. Get in touch via our contact page to find out what’s involved.
6. Donate to fund the research
Four decades of population monitoring, tagging and habitat management run almost entirely on donations and volunteer hours. Even a small contribution helps fund equipment, signage and predator control. Visit our donate page to support the colony directly.
7. Spread the word, accurately
Share what you learn about the colony with other visitors at the breakwater – many people don’t realise flash photography or dogs are a problem until someone tells them. Following and sharing from our Facebook page also helps more people find accurate, current information before they visit.
