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Middle Island is a small (c. 2 ha), rocky island lying close to the shore of south-western Victoria, Australia, in Stingray Bay next to the city of Warrnambool. It is a wildlife sanctuary that is home to breeding colonies of little penguins (Eudyptula minor) and short-tailed shearwaters (Ardenna tenuirostris). It is now closed to general public access due to the low penguin population.
Contents
Map of Middle Island, Victoria, Australia
Maremma Project
Because of the proximity of the island to the coast, it is accessible at low tide to predators such as foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and stray dogs. As a result, the penguin colony declined to a low of ten breeding pairs by 2005. In 2006 an attempt was made to protect the birds from foxes by the use of Maremma sheepdogs trained to protect penguins rather than sheep and to act as a deterrent to foxes. The dogs spend five or six days a week on the island during the breeding season from October to March. Since then the penguin population has been increasing and by 2016 had reached nearly two hundred.
Culture
A film Oddball has been made about the Penguin Preservation Project.