Kangaroo Island locals on the frontline against bird flu are fearful of further devastation, with the mayor saying he is "sick of bloody disasters".
It was yesterday revealed that three mass bird deaths believed to be linked to H5N1 and involving more than 1,000 crested terns had occurred on remote SA islands — including two off KI.
A suspected case involving a little penguin found on D'Estrees Bay on the island's southern coastline is also being investigated.
"It was distressing and it really gets us worried over here about where this is all going — terribly distressing for the community," Kangaroo Island Mayor Michael Pengilly said of the mass mortalities.
The SA government has said it is now considering a potential vaccination program for certain species, including penguins.
Penneshaw Penguin Centre tour operator Renee Daniell said it had been "heartbreaking to hear" of the mass mortality events, which occurred on North Page and South Page off KI and Troubridge Island off Yorke Peninsula.
She said the local penguin population had rebounded in recent years after other challenges, but the spread of H5N1 was making her nervous.
"We've been following it for about a month now but it sort of got a lot more real yesterday with how hard it could hit," she said.
"We monitor a colony that's got about 100 penguins in the area that we monitor — the whole Penneshaw population's about 200 penguins at the moment.
Ms Daniell's business is on the north coast of the island, and she said it was popular with tourists "from all around the world coming to see the penguins".
"[We] don't like waking up at five o'clock in the morning worried about what's going to happen on the day or going out for a walk every morning to go and see if I can find a dead penguin — it's not something we enjoy doing," she said.
Environment Minister Emily Bourke said the penguin found at D'Estrees Bay was "in the process of being tested" for H5N1.
She said the number of cases at an earlier mass mortality site — Baudin Rocks — was now suspected to have exceeded 500.
Push for penguin vaccination
Mr Pengilly said the island had been lashed in recent years by a succession of calamities, and that little penguins had "taken a hammering" during the algal bloom.
"I'm sick of bloody disasters," he said with a wry smile.
"We had the fires six years ago where half the island was burnt out, then we had COVID, then we had algal bloom, now we've got bird flu.
"We lost thousands of animals, tens of thousands of birds in the fires — they've recovered.
"Last year with the algal bloom we had our fish stocks decimated — they're recovering quite quickly so we hope at the end of this our bird life recovers."
Ms Daniell said she had sought biosecurity advice and had organised meetings for Monday with the primary industries and environment departments.
"We've been told to look out for signs of things like [birds] being lethargic or not moving properly, which is concerning," she said.
"Hopefully we look at even the opportunity of vaccinating the colony, given that we are a monitored colony and we are going through breeding season at the moment.
"If it's something that could potentially protect these little penguins, I ultimately am — I suppose — pro."
About 65 kilometres away, as the crows flies, Granite Island off Victor Harbor is home to another population of little penguins, and local volunteer Stephen Hedges is bracing for bird flu's impact.
"Often it's the first wave that's going to be really tough," he said.
"Bird flu comes back each year, like our flu — but the more tolerance they can develop, the better."
SA Premier Peter Malinauskas said vaccination was currently being considered, but that decisions would be made based on various factors, and that there would need to be a "regulatory and approval process to make sure it's safe".
"We have already commenced the process in conjunction with Cleland [Wildlife Park] but also the Adelaide Zoo," he told 891 ABC Adelaide.
"The vaccine is still early in its development.
"To be able to administer the vaccine we have to be able to catch the bird and then we have to be able to do it twice.
"For birds of flight that is obviously difficult. For flightless birds, that task is a little bit easier, provided that they are a species that return to their burrows."
