King penguins’ 1500km expedition a happy feat

They are a long way from home and sure look lonely, but several seriously off-course king penguins are making a big splash in Tasmania.

Tasmanians have this summer been spotting king penguins, usually found 1500km away on sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island. Picture: Colin Davies

They are a long way from home and sure look lonely, but several seriously off-course king penguins are making a big splash in southern Tasmania.

These residents of sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island have been spotted 1500km away, at several locations in Hobart and southern Tasmania this summer.

BirdLife Tasmania convener Eric Woehler said the sightings began on a Hobart beach in early January, shifted to the state’s southeast, then to Bruny Island, while the most recent was in the far south about 10 days ago.

Dr Woehler said despite the multiple sightings, he believed there were probably only two king penguins. The early January arrival was moved by wildlife officials on several occasions in response to hazards from people and dogs; each move resulting in “new” sightings.

“Just in the last 10 days I’ve been made aware that there is a second king penguin,” he said, adding it too had been seen on several beaches before settling in one remote location well south of Hobart. “Vagrant” penguins from the sub-Antarctic were occasional visitors to Tasmania.

“They are typically, but not always, juveniles exploring the world for the first time after they’ve left the colony,” he said.

“Most common vagrant penguins are those such as the rockhoppers, many of which come from the New Zealand region, and every year we might have between half a dozen and a dozen vagrant penguins alive on our beaches.

“They rock up, come ashore to moult and then they go back into the sea. They have to be ashore when they moult.”

During this moult, which could take more than three weeks, the birds were ­vulnerable to dog attack or even from too many rubbernecking ­humans.

“Even well-meaning people who want to go out and see the bird out of curiosity create an element of disturbance and risk for that bird,” Dr Woehler said.

“We are trying to protect these birds so the greater degree of solitude they have, the better chance they have of going through their moult successfully and heading back out to water.”

Dr Woehler said king penguins were probably a frequent visitor but wildlife ­experts were reluctant to promote sightings.