Snipers on the lookout for Sydney penguin colony killers

Snipers will patrol the beach to protect Sydney's endangered little penguins as CSI-style forensics are used to find the killer - or killers - of nine of the colony at Manly, Australia. An investigation into the penguin deaths at North Head was dramatically stepped up yesterday after another little penguin was found mauled to death on Quarantine Beach on Saturday.

It was the ninth from an endangered colony of just 60 pairs killed by either a dog or fox in the past 10 days. Four dead penguins were found last Friday and a further four in following days.

Autopsies at Taronga Zoo had confirmed the penguin's injuries were consistent with a dog or fox attack.



The National Parks and Wildlife Service contracted two gunmen armed with .22 calibre rifles to patrol Quarantine Beach and surrounding areas late last night after fox tracks were found in the area. The shooters will return to the area again tonight.

Manly council has also enlisted the services of Australia's only animals forensics experts to try to find the animal responsible. They hoped DNA swabs taken from the dead penguins would identify the breed of dog involved.

If a dog matching the description is identified, council have the authority to execute a warrant at the owner's address to sample the dog's DNA. If it matched that taken from the penguins, the dog owner faced heavy fines and possible criminal charges.