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Phillip Island: Little Penguins, Austalia, Ecotourism And Parade

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Published: November 6, 2007

The penguin parade is a popular attraction in Australia, particularly Phillip Island, located south-east of the city of Melbourne. It is considered as the country's top natural wildlife feature and is a title-holder of the Victorian Tourism Awards for Ecotourism. Every year, thousands of tourists flock to the Phillip Island for an unforgettable experience of observing the parade of Fairy penguins in their natural habitat.

The penguin parade highlights a visit to the Phillip Island, where the smallest penguins in the world called Fairy penguins, or Little penguins, arise from the waters and return to their sand burrows and nesting sites after a day of fishing. This is an amazing event that occurs every night along Summerland Beach, and tourists will absolutely be thrilled to see the beach being slowly crowded by these dainty penguins.

At first, there are only a few Little penguins coming out from the water, but more of them emerge and march towards the sandy shores after a few minutes, waddling away from the sea and back to their dens after spending the whole day at sea fishing for food. Soon, the beach is full of beautiful Little penguins as the sun sets. This is indeed a must-see event for every tourist who has the chance to visit Summerland Beach, since it is one of the rare opportunities to observe the daily activities of Little penguins in the wild.

The Little penguins of Phillip Island are the smallest among the 17 penguin species, with the average adult penguin height of 40 to 43 centimeters and average weight of around 1 kilogram. They are also known as Fairy penguins in Australia due to their size, and Little Blue penguins in New Zealand because of the indigo-blue color of their plumage.

The Little penguins are expert swimmers and hunters capable of hunting small sea creatures such as fish and squid. They usually go back to their nesting areas or colonies at nightfall to bring food to their chicks. Little penguins also return to shore in groups as a defense against attackers or predators.

To witness the penguin parade tourists are advised to make early bookings and be in the viewing areas before sunset. This makes sure that visitors get to be in the best viewing spots before the Little penguins arrive from their whole-day food gathering.

As an ecotourism project of Australia, the penguin parade is a significant feat that promotes awareness and wildlife conservation by allowing tourists to see a glimpse of the Little penguin's daily life. However, tourists are not allowed to take pictures or videos of the Little penguins during the parade. This is a precaution to ensure the penguins remain undisturbed in their natural habitat. This also serves as a guarantee people will continue to witness the Little penguins' march back to their homes at Summerland Beach.


Sources:
"Little Penguin." Wikipedia.org. 24 Oct. 2007. 26 Oct. 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_penguin.

"Phillip Island." AustralianExplorer.com. 26 Oct. 2007. http://www.australianexplorer.com/phillip_island.h tm.

"Penguin Parade." Penguins.org.au. 26 Oct. 2007. http://www.penguins.org.au/content.asp?pg=54.

Rivera, Larry. "Phillip Island." About.com. 26 Oct. 2007. http://goaustralia.about.com/cs/vicsightseeing/a/p hillip1.htm.
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