‘On Phillip Island, life is easy.'

Little penguins dive more deeply more often than was previously thought. This information was acquired by Dr André Chiaradia at Phillip Island Nature Park - with some help from objects the size and shape of small lipsticks.

'I like gadgets,' André admits. 'We made this discovery using tiny computers which are stuck to the back of penguins with tape. Each computer has a pressure sensor, temperature sensor and timer, and the new ones which I have been working with my colleagues from Japan also have a movement sensor. They can measure frequency of stroke, how far they dive, the amount of time they spend resting or swimming, what happens when they hit a school of fish. With this information we can track all the penguins' activities at sea.'

While André is an expert on the penguins found off Victoria’s coast, he was born in the mountains of Brazil. Phillip Island is a good place to work as a scientist and a great place to bring up my family. I went back to Brazil in 1998 and realised that I was now too Australian to live in Brazil, but not too Brazilian to live in Australia.'

Favourite Nature-Based Experience
Walking on the Cape Woolamai Trail.

Favourite Object
A bicycle, because it is such an ingenious means of transport, the perfect way to get from A to B.