Australia races to shield little penguins from H5N1 bird flu

Phillip Island in Australia hosts the world's largest colony of little penguins, tiny seabirds barely reaching knee height and weighing as much as a standard bag of sugar. These pint-sized penguins are the stars of the island's annual "penguin parade," drawing hundreds of thousands of tourists each year to witness their nightly descent onto the beach. The colony on Phillip Island numbers up to 40,000 birds during the southern hemisphere's spring and summer breeding season, making it the largest single colony of its kind.

The little penguins, also known as fairy penguins, are native to southern Australia and New Zealand, with a lifespan of around six years. However, they now face a grave threat from the highly contagious H5N1 avian influenza virus, which has recently crossed the continental landmass and begun to spread among local wildlife. The virus was detected in a dead penguin on Phillip Island this month, marking the first infection in the colony.

In response to this threat, wildlife teams have commenced an unprecedented vaccination campaign to protect the little penguin population. James Todd, chief biodiversity officer for the state of Victoria, where Phillip Island is located, described this effort as "unprecedented," noting that it is the largest scale vaccination of a wild population ever attempted anywhere in the world. The vaccination program also extends to a popular little penguin population at St Kilda, a beach suburb in Melbourne.

Todd explained that administering the H5N1 vaccine to wild populations is a significant challenge, primarily because birds require two doses, administered with a three-to-four-week gap. Despite the complexity of the task, wildlife experts are familiar with the birds' burrows at Phillip Island and St Kilda, and the penguins are accustomed to the floodlights used for the annual "penguin parade" and the periodic handling by veterinarians for health monitoring.

The vaccination teams aim to inoculate about 5,000 little penguins near visitor areas, a program that is likely to span weeks or months rather than days. Ideally, the vaccine should be given in two doses with a three-to-four-week interval, though given the urgency of the situation, experts suggest that one to two weeks might be sufficient, though a final decision has not yet been made.

During the vaccination process, teams retrieve the birds from their burrows and attempt to corral some as they come ashore on the beach, using microchips to track those that have received the shot. While the birds may squawk and attempt to peck, the vaccination teams are well-equipped to handle these wild animals.