Overview ...

Little Penguins commonly occur along the southern coastline of Australia, from Fremantle in Western Australia to Port Stephens in NSW. Before the arrival of European settlers over 200 years ago Sydney Harbour was home to a thriving population of Little Penguins.

Since that time the population has dropped significantly due to the impact of increasing urbanisation on Little Penguin nesting sites and other environmental issues such as pollution, over-fishing and feral animals.

Colonies
Little Penguin colonies vary in size from a few nests to many thousands of nests. The penguins generally come ashore after dark and return to sea before first light to forage for food. It's not easy to tell male and female Little Penguins apart although the male is often slightly heavier. Adult penguins don't migrate although juvenile penguins tend to range further and return when they are 1 to 3 years of age.

Wild animals
Although these little penguins have chosen an urban "home", they are still wild animals, dependent on their instincts to survive. Too much interaction with humans may diminish a penguin's ability to survive in the wild. For this reason - and the savage cuts inflicted by a penguin's sharp beak - only people with a permit to handle wildlife are permitted to handle them.