Penneshaw Penguin Centre

Penneshaw Penguin Centre Penguin and Wildlife Night Walking Tours

🐧 When you’re supposed to be doing additional bird flu checks… but you just can’t resist peeking into the burrows! 💙And ...
31/08/2026

🐧 When you’re supposed to be doing additional bird flu checks… but you just can’t resist peeking into the burrows! 💙

And look who our crew spotted — these two cheeky little chicks poking their fluffy faces out to say hello! 🥹🐧🐧

While Adrian and Renee are currently away at the International Penguin Conference, talking, learning and doing all things penguin, our amazing crew back home hasn’t missed a beat.

They’re still out there every day monitoring the colony, keeping an eye out for signs of bird flu, advocating for our little locals and educating visitors about these incredible little birds.

We’re incredibly lucky to have such a dedicated team looking after things while we’re away — and it certainly helps when the job comes with little faces like these! 💙🐧

Penguin Conference

27/08/2026

Another successful burrow check today! 🐧💙

We counted 32 adults and 20 chicks on land, and even more excitingly, another 4 chicks have fledged since last week!

That brings our total to 30 chicks successfully fledged so far this breeding season! 🎉🐧

Once Little Penguin chicks fledge, they head out into the big wide world completely on their own. They can spend the next 6–12 months largely at sea, learning to find food and survive independently — with no help from Mum or Dad!

So far, so good for our little Penneshaw colony. 💙 With breeding season still underway, every healthy chick making it out to sea feels like a little win.

And, of course, with bird flu still on our minds, we reminded everyone once again to keep their distance and practise good hygiene… although, as usual, the penguins appear to have their own ideas about social distancing! 😂🐧🐧🐧

🐧 Another Bird Flu Update 🦠Today we met with representatives from PIRSA and DEW to discuss the current bird flu situatio...
24/08/2026

🐧 Another Bird Flu Update 🦠

Today we met with representatives from PIRSA and DEW to discuss the current bird flu situation and what we can do to best protect our Penneshaw Little Penguins.

We discussed the possibility of vaccination, however under the current requirements, approval appears unlikely. While we have extensive historical records and regularly monitor individual burrows, our wild penguins are not microchipped or individually identifiable, meaning much of our data is considered observational. Little Penguins are also not currently included on the priority conservation species list for vaccination.

While disappointing, we will continue to advocate for our Little Penguins and work with PIRSA and DEW as the situation develops.

We also met on-site with PIRSA representatives onsite to discuss practical biosecurity measures, including footwear cleaning and disinfection, which we will begib rolling out this week.

💙 And some positive news…

At this stage, we have not observed any sick or deceased Little Penguins within the Penneshaw rookery.

Breeding season is also well underway, with plenty of activity throughout the colony. Every healthy chick that successfully fledges this season is important, and we are hopeful that a strong breeding season will give the colony the best possible chance to remain resilient and rebound should bird flu impact our penguins.

🐧 You can help too.

Please continue to report any sick or dead birds through the official reporting channels. If you see a sick or deceased Little Penguin in the Penneshaw area, please also send us a message via Facebook or Instagram so we can follow up, record the location and continue monitoring our colony as closely as possible.

Thank you for continuing to look out for our little locals. 🐧💙

🐧 Penguins everywhere in the rookery! 🐧Yesterday’s burrow check was another exciting one, with 21 adults and 34 chicks s...
07/08/2026

🐧 Penguins everywhere in the rookery! 🐧

Yesterday’s burrow check was another exciting one, with 21 adults and 34 chicks spotted on land! 💙

Even more exciting, we’ve now recorded 11 chicks fledged for the season — 11 little penguins that have taken that huge step out into the big wide ocean! 🌊🐧

And the surprises keep coming… during our check we discovered new natural burrows that we didn’t previously know about! Finding penguins making use of new areas of the rookery is always wonderful to see.

There is so much happening in the colony right now — chicks growing, youngsters heading out to sea, adults still raising families, and apparently a few penguins setting up homes without telling us! 😂

Such an exciting time for our little Penneshaw penguins. 💙🐧

03/08/2026

At 4am this morning our house of humans were all snuggled in bed, but for this Penguin family it was party time! 🎉

These guys have been so active overnight they filled the memory card on our little spy cameras 📷

29/07/2026

🦠 Bird Flu Update – Penneshaw Penguin Centre

Many of you will have seen the recent ABC news regarding the increase in avian influenza (bird flu) detections on Kangaroo Island.

The good news is that, at this stage, we have not observed any signs of illness within the Penneshaw Little Penguin colony. We monitor the colony every day and will continue to keep a very close eye on our little locals throughout the breeding season.

We've already had a chat with the penguins about keeping 1.5 metres apart and maintaining proper hygiene... unfortunately, they don't seem overly interested in following the advice! 😅

In all seriousness, penguins are highly social birds, and with the colony right in the middle of breeding season, distancing simply isn't possible for them. We are currently reviewing additional biosecurity measures that can be implemented and will continue to follow the guidance and instructions provided by PIRSA as they become available. At this stage, the recommendations are fairly limited, but we will do everything we reasonably can to help protect the colony.

Our tours are continuing to operate as normal. Last night was a fantastic reminder of how well the colony is doing, with 44 adult penguins and 8 chicks spotted during the evening tour. 💙🐧

As always, we ask visitors to help us protect our wildlife by staying on the designated paths, following your guide's instructions, and avoiding any contact with wildlife.

We'll continue to keep everyone updated if anything changes. Thank you for your ongoing support in helping us look after Penneshaw's incredible Little Penguin colony.

23/07/2026

Those tiny little fluff balls are stealing the show every evening at the moment! 🐧💙

Today's burrow check revealed 38 chicks (from the burrows we were able to see into) and 17 adults, with many of the adults sitting tight on eggs... or perhaps hiding even more precious chicks from us! 🥹

It's such an exciting time of year, with the colony full of new life and plenty of adorable penguin activity.

If you've been thinking about joining a tour, now is the perfect time! ✨

Book your Penguin Tour via the link in our bio.

🐧 “Flippin’ flippers… the penguins have been busy!”It had been a couple of weeks since our last daytime burrow check, so...
22/05/2026

🐧 “Flippin’ flippers… the penguins have been busy!”

It had been a couple of weeks since our last daytime burrow check, so this morning we were up bright and early (before young conservation legend Koby had to head off to school) to see what our little penguins have been up to.

The results were exciting:
• 41 adult penguins spotted in burrows
• A couple of eggs currently being incubated 🥚
• Possible chick noises heard from a few burrows… but we’ll wait until the next burrow check before officially confirming that one 👀
• Plenty of activity around the colony, with penguins busily collecting nesting material and preparing burrows for the breeding season ahead.

Even more exciting, these numbers are slightly higher than what we recorded at the same time last year, so we’re quietly optimistic for a fantastic breeding season ahead 🐧💙

If you’d like to see these incredible little penguins in the wild, tours can be booked online via the website.

Fantastic news for the Little Penguins of Kangaroo Island 😍
20/05/2026

Fantastic news for the Little Penguins of Kangaroo Island 😍

14/05/2026

As the sun goes down in Penneshaw, the island’s smallest locals begin to emerge 👀

These Little Penguins have called this stretch of coastline home for generations, waddling ashore after days spent fishing. Watching them return to their burrows under the stars is one of those simple, unforgettable wildlife moments that stays with you long after you leave.

The Penneshaw Penguin Centre offers a rare chance to experience these remarkable birds up close while learning about the conservation work helping protect their future on Kangaroo Island. So rug up in your winter woollies and experience a side of Island Life that only happens after dark.

Find the best things to do here: https://bit.ly/best-things-to-do-KI

Address

36 Bay Terrace
Penneshaw, SA
5222

Telephone

+61499346013

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