Australia races to shield little penguins from H5N1 bird flu

Nature Parks rangers processing a little penguin, including weighing, microchipping, scanning and vaccinating it, as part of the H5N1 bird flu vaccination program at Phillip Island Nature Parks in Victoria, on Aug 19, 2026. (Photo: AFP/Phillip Island Nature Parks) 20 Aug 2026 01:46PM SYDNEY: Australian wildlife workers have launched an unprecedented effort to vaccinate wild populations of little penguins against the highly contagious H5N1 avian influenza.Hundreds of thousands of tourists a year flock to viewing areas and boardwalks to watch the diminutive sea birds waddle ashore and along the beach in the evenings on the eastern coast's Phillip Island.The stars of this "penguin parade" are from a wild colony on the island, numbering up to 40,000 seabirds at the height of the breeding seaso