On Christmas night last year, Andrew Falbo felt more like a bouncer than a wildlife volunteer as he tried to wrangle 5000 tourists crammed onto St Kilda Pier to witness the daily homecoming of a colony of little penguins.

“It became like a nightclub – one in, one out,” Mr Falbo recalls.

The government has funded rangers to attend St Kilda Pier every night until Easter as tourist numbers balloon. Credit:Joe Armao

In recent years – as social media has popularised one of Melbourne’s most Instagramable free activities – Earthcare volunteers have warned the daily penguin parade is becoming a free-for-all.

The volunteer guides have said they can no longer single-handedly ensure the safety of the penguins with tourist numbers ballooning and people illegally clambering onto the rocks to fish.