Little Penguins Vaccinated
Over 1,000 little penguins have received their first dose of bird flu vaccine in Victoria, Australia, as part of a large-scale vaccination program
More than 1,000 little penguins have received their first dose of bird flu vaccine in Victoria, according to Catherine Basterfield, the chief executive of Phillip Island Nature Parks. The vaccinations began early last week and are ramping up, with about 5,000 birds across Phillip Island and St Kilda set to receive two doses of the H5N1 vaccine.
Vaccination Process
The vaccination process is complex, with penguins being trapped in a little pen as they come up the beach, then moved into smaller pens for vaccination. The penguins are weighed, measured, and microchipped before being vaccinated and released. Those same birds will receive a second dose in three weeks’ time.
The little penguins are the world’s smallest species of penguin, found only in southern Australia and New Zealand. They are considered at “very high risk” from the deadly bird flu, according to a national risk assessment. The population on Phillip Island is about 40,000 birds, with the island’s “penguin parade” being a major tourist attraction.
Economic Importance
The little penguins have a significant economic value to the region and to the state of Victoria, with the “penguin parade” drawing about 700,000 visitors each year and contributing about $500m to the state’s economy. The Victorian government announced the large-scale wildlife vaccination program on 12 August, with vaccines supplied by the federal agriculture department.
Risks and Challenges
Positive bird flu cases on Phillip Island, including one in a little penguin, have increased the sense of urgency, with the team working to vaccinate as many as possible over the coming weeks. An Arthur Rylah Institute report published last year said it would take 10 weeks for penguins to reach peak immunity, and that administering vaccines after H5N1 arrived could be “too late, because significant mortality is likely to occur before adequate vaccine coverage is achieved”. The report said that up to 16,000 little penguins could die in a worst-case scenario.
The vaccination program is not without its challenges, with James Todd, Victoria’s chief biodiversity officer, saying that vaccines aren’t a “silver bullet”, and wouldn’t be suitable for many of the hundreds of other wild species at risk from the virus. Dr John Cockrem, an emeritus professor at Massey University in New Zealand, said that H5 bird flu is an added threat to the species, which are already affected by severe storms, sea level rise, and changes in food availability due to the climate crisis. The little penguins on King Island in Tasmania have already been affected, with 51 deaths presumed to have been caused by bird flu.
