Crowdfunding drive launched to buy and train two maremma dogs to scare off foxes which constantly attack penguins on island off Warrnambool

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Two new guard dogs are being urgently sought to help protect one of the last colonies of little penguins on Australia’s coastline.

A coalition of conservationists, academics and Warrnambool city council are crowdfunding to raise money to buy and train two maremma dogs to guard a group of penguins that are under constant threat from foxes.

Wanted: knitters to create jumpers for little penguins Read more

The colony of little penguins on Middle Island, off the coastal town of Warrnambool in Victoria, was virtually wiped out by foxes in the 1990s and early 2000s. In one attack 360 of the diminutive birds were killed; the local newspaper described it as a “massacre”.

The ongoing threat prompted a local chicken farmer to suggest using maremmas to guard the penguins. The working dogs, usually deployed to protect livestock, were sent to Middle Island in 2006.

Conservationists hailed the world-first initiative as a stunning success: no penguins were lost to foxes after the maremmas arrived. The penguin colony, which dwindled to just four identified individuals, has rebounded to 150 birds.

The concept has since been expanded. Zoos Victoria use maremmas to guard vulnerable bandicoots.



“The colony really was on its last legs and just one more fox attack would’ve finished it off – it really was a smorgasbord for foxes there,” Peter Abbott, manager of tourism services at the council, told Guardian Australia.

“The dogs protect the penguins and allow their numbers to naturally rebound. They’ve worked very well but it’s run on the smell of an oily rag – we don’t get state or federal funding.”

Eudy and Tula, the Middle Island guard dogs, are now eight years old and project leaders are planning their retirement. A crowd-funding campaign has been launched to raise $25,000 to buy and train two puppies to replace Eudy and Tula.

“The dogs are lined up with the breeders but we need to buy them and they will need a couple of years to train so they know what they are doing,” Abbott said.

“There are ups and downs in the process. This is a world first, so we are kind of writing the manual as we go. These dogs are normally used for chickens, after all.”

The maremmas are sent to Middle Island over the warmer months when a sandbar – which gives foxes access – appears. Volunteers feed and check on the dogs each day.

The dogs are introduced to the penguins and become friends with them. They then bark at anyone or anything that approaches the penguins.

“We train them that the island is theirs – 90% of their work is through barking,” Abbott said. “But if they did get on to a fox they’d kill it.”

The fundraising drive comes as a new film about the guard dogs, called Oddball – after the first maremma to be used on the island – opens. Eudy and Tula were used as “stunt doubles” on the production.

“Now that the movie is out we will need to remind them that they are working dogs and not movie stars,” Abbott said.

To donate to the cause, click here.