penguins in the Encounter Bay area was more than 2600. In 1992, the island's population was believed to be stable and was estimated to total between 1000 and 1500 little penguins. Nocturnal tours of the penguin colony commenced that year as a joint initiative of the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Victor Harbor Council. On 6 November 1992, a man counted nine dead penguins above the high tide mark while walking between Victor Harbor and Port Elliot, but was unable to lodge an official report of the discovery. Fox predation and development concerns Anne Boulter, a local resident who made regular private counts along a limited section of the island, believed the colony to also be stable in 1994. That year, a fox killed 75 penguins on Granite Island in three days and was eventually killed. Her records of the population which commenced in 1989, showed that the penguins were moulting later each year and most of the penguins were only breeding once a year. In 1995, another fox crossed the Causeway from the mainland and killed 17 penguins on Granite Island. At that time the population was estimated at 1500 animals and was being surveyed by the Greater Granite Island Development Company, which was also establishing new burrows to support the population. The company commenced the development of a Penguin Interpretive Centre on the island in 1995 and was expected to be completed in 1996. Concerns were raised by Victor Harbor residents that construction of new infrastructure on Granite Island could disturb or harm the penguin colony, including the transportation of heavy construction equipment to the island after dark. Students of the Victor Harbor High School were among those who expressed concern about the extent and the impact of the proposed tourism development on the penguin colony. In January 1995 a single Fjordland penguin (a species native to New Zealand) came ashore on Granite Island. It was relocated by Parks and Wildlife staff to West Island so that the animal could moult away from human disturbance. Population decline Granite Island's little penguin colony has declined dramatically since the 1990s. In 1998, the colony was considered to be "very healthy" and was estimated to contain 1800 birds. In 2001, the population count was 1,548 penguins. A count conducted in October 2013 totaled 38 penguins. In 2013 the decline prompted the mayor of Victor Harbor, Graham Philp, to commence