SEVEN little penguins from the endangered colony at Manly have been found dead and a dog attack has been blamed for at least some of the massacre.
The penguins - three breeding pairs and a chick - were found dead on the Harbour shoreline at Federation Point near Oceanworld.
Three penguins were found dead on Friday, one on Saturday and another three on Sunday.
Preliminary results from a post mortem examination at Taronga Zoo of three of the birds discovered on Friday found they had apparently been killed by a dog.
Dogs had been banned from the foreshore at Federation Point to try to protect the penguins which dig their nests there, separate from other breeding areas at Manly.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service has appealed for witnesses who may have been in the area last Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Manly's little penguins are the last mainland breeding colony in New South Wales.
