Oil spills can be lethal for penguins and other sea birds . Oil is toxic when ingested and penguins ' buoyancy and the insulative quality of their plumage is damaged by contact with oil . Little penguin populations have been significantly affected during two major oil spills at sea : the Iron Baron oil spill off Tasmania 's north coast in 1995 and the grounding of the Rena off New Zealand in 2011
grounding of the Rena
Rena oil spill
Little penguin