Penguin watching threatening New Zealand penguin colony

Yellow eyed penguins as seen from the hide. Ursula Ellenberg

August 2008. A new study has shown that unregulated tourism may threaten the survival of a yellow-eyed penguin colony on New Zealand's Otago Peninsula.

Ursula Ellenberg's study of the penguin colony at Sandfly Bay, about 10 kilometres from Dunedin, shows that the birds don't breed as well as those in more remote sites, probably as a result of stress caused by frequent disturbance from the thousands of people who visit each year.

Hidden cameras
The 35-year-old researcher used hidden surveillance cameras and microphones embedded in dummy eggs to observe the birds, which Ursula's findings have shown to be one of the shyest penguin species in the world. Monitoring shows even careful visitors to nest sites cause a doubling of the penguin's heart rate with the birds needing up to half an hour to recover.

As a result of disturbance, the birds are more likely to abandon their nests and chick feeding may be disrupted, leading to reduced breeding success and lighter fledglings.

Yellow-eyed penguins at Sandfly Bay
The iconic yellow-eyed penguin caught Ursula's attention when she learned that increased visitor numbers were associated with a decline in penguin sightings at Sandfly Bay which is one of the most easily accessible bird-spotting sites on the Otago Peninsula.

Ursula says yellow-eyed penguins spend around 80 per cent of their time in the water and many at Sandfly Bay are reluctant to come ashore to return to their nesting sites because they have to pass tourists waiting to snap a photograph.

People get much too close
"People sit on the main penguin highway waiting or get between the birds and their nests, forcing them back into the sea and delaying chick feeding times. The wealth of movie and TV footage that shows wildlife close up probably isn't helping - it raises unrealistic expectations about how close you can get and doesn't show the space animals need."

Originally from Germany, Ursula studied at universities in Germany, Canada and Chile before coming to New Zealand five years ago. Her interest in the impact of eco tourism was sparked when she was guiding back country tours in the Norwegian Arctic in the late 1990s and realised how little was known about the potential effects trekkers had on wildlife.

Ursula says her findings highlight the need for appropriate visitor management at eco-tourism sites. She is working with the Department of Conservation to introduce better signage at Sandfly Bay and have volunteer wardens on hand to improve visitor understanding of the impact of their behaviour.