The African penguin is a popular species for tourists and locals to admire. However, due to past and present human activities, their populations are rapidly declining. As a result, various conservation institutions have established the #Not On Our Watch (#NOOW) public movement to raise awareness and increase public action. To help achieve this, the movement as well as other conservation institutions are hosting events such as the Simon’s Town “Waddle” on 12 October 2024 to celebrate African Penguin Awareness Day. Register here. Read on to learn more and find out how you can help!
The African Penguin
The African penguin (Spheniscus demersus) is the only penguin species found across the African continent. Once known as the Jackass penguin due to their braying, which sounds remarkably like donkeys, you can easily identify them by their black and white plumage and black spots on their chest. These penguins inhabit the Namibian and western South African coastline, where they are endemic. They form large colonies and typically remain on the coastline where they hatched. As part of the Marine Big 5, which also includes dolphins, whales, seals, and sharks, they are popular with both tourists and locals. Many colonies serve as tourist attractions, offering visitors the opportunity to observe and, to some extent, interact with the birds.
However, all is not well for the African penguin. According to the IUCN Red List, African penguins are endangered, with only about 10,000 breeding pairs remaining. At the start of the 20th century, there were 1.5 – 3 million individuals. By 1979, the population was significantly smaller, at ~55 200 breeding pairs. Now, there are only ~10 000 breeding pairs in the wild. There are many factors that lead to this dramatic decrease, almost all of them directly or indirectly resulting from human activities, historical and current.
Historical Harvesting of the African Penguin
Before conservation laws were established, people considered penguin eggs a delicacy. The Dyer Island Conservation Trust reports that the past South African parliament and even the Titanic served African penguin eggs. This led to intense egg harvesting, which severely impacted the hatching and growth rates of penguin colonies. The unregulated harvesting of eggs also puts a strain on the adults. Penguins will lay more eggs if the first two eggs (known as a clutch) are unsuccessful, which is very energy-consuming and often leads to the abandonment of eggs and chicks.
Farmers also valued bird guano as a nutrient-rich fertilizer for agriculture, so people harvested it from penguin breeding islands and colonies. But wouldn’t that create a cleaner and more suitable environment for breeding, you may be asking? It turns out, the guano is very beneficial to nest-making because of its insulation properties and soft material. This allows the birds to easily build temperature-controlled burrows that protect eggs and chicks from predators and flooding. However, removing the guano meant destroying these burrows. This exposed chicks and eggs to the elements and predators. This, as you can imagine, was not good for the penguin population.
More Work, More Competition
However, in the mid-1900s, authorities implemented various laws and regulations to ban the harvesting of African penguin eggs and guano. The largest of the current threats to the species is the overexploitation of sardines and anchovies, the main food sources of the penguins. Due to this, penguins need to spend more time and energy to hunt, requiring more food. A food shortage also means that other predators of that food source have to change what they eat. For some animals, such as the Cape fur seals, this change may include penguins.
Other threats include oil spills and predator incursion. Oil spills are a major issue not only for African penguins but also for most other marine bird species. The penguins’ outer feathers produce a waterproofing substance that prevents water from reaching their insulating layer. This allows the birds to hunt in or rest on top of the water without getting cold and wet, especially in the freezing waters of the Cape. However, the oil from spills caused by leakage, wrecks, etc., damage this waterproofing layer. As a result, oil-covered penguins will struggle to hunt and may freeze to death underwater. Land-based predators also threaten the species, usually attacking chicks or eggs in nests. As a result, the growth of the penguin population slows down.
But There Is Hope
Experts widely believe the species will be functionally extinct by 2035. In other words, the number of individuals will be too small to produce enough offspring to regrow the population. This is a future that organisations such as SANCCOB, CapeNature and the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation are actively fighting to prevent. Each organization dedicates itself to or plays a vital role in conserving these magnificent birds. SANCCOB rescues and rehabilitates sick, injured or abandoned birds and eggs, and releases them back into the wild. Institutions like CapeNature and SANParks manage and monitor the colonies and regulate human activity within and near these colonies. The Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation and organisations like it lead the way in terms of raising awareness and educating the public on the African penguins. All of these organisations work together to fight against the population decline of a key member of the African wildlife.
However, this is not enough. Public awareness of the situation is very important to the cause, but public action is what drives it. Unfortunately, there are not many public action campaigns supporting this cause. This is a gap that the #Not On Our Watch (#NOOW) campaign is trying to fill. With support from conservation institutions such as SANCCOB and the World Wildlife Fund – South Africa (WWF-SA), as well as financial backing from various organisations around the world, this campaign aims to create a positive movement for the penguins. Hopefully, with enough public pressure, the right authorities will make the right decisions regarding the African penguin. The campaign also seeks to help colony managers by encouraging visitors of the colonies to behave in a way that is beneficial to the safety of the birds.
The Penguins Need YOUR Help!
Members of the public such as yourself can help save these beautiful birds. It can be as small as donating money or even old towels and sheets, or as big as volunteering your free time at conservation centres such as SANCCOB. Also, visit the Two Oceans Aquarium to learn more about this and many other species, and visit the colonies to witness the birds first-hand. Explore the penguins’ marine habitat through activities like our Snorkel for Science. If you see an injured or sick penguin, then report it either to the authorities responsible for managing the colony or to SANCCOB immediately. Finally, follow #NOOW on Instagram and Facebook to keep up to date with conservation efforts.
Are there any events coming up that can help get me started? Yes! African Penguin Awareness Day is on 12 October, and there will be exciting events taking place that will get you involved, but would also be great for families and friends to join. The biggest of the events is the “Waddle for the African Penguin” hosted by the Two Oceans Aquarium, SANCCOB, Cape RADD, and I AM WATER. The purpose is to have members of the public join on a penguin-themed walk from Muizenberg to Simon’s Town. The goal is to raise awareness of and bring authorities’ attention to the situation. However, if you are looking for a more relaxed and informative experience, SANCCOB is hosting a celebration of the day at their Table View facility. Join a guided tour of the facility, learn about what they do and enjoy various activities.
References
Branch, G., Griffiths, C., Branch, M. & Beckley, L. (2016). Two Oceans: A guide to the marine life of southern Africa. 4th ed. Cape Town: Struik Nature.
Du Toit, L. (2023). Waddle wonderful walk. Available at: https://www.aquarium.co.za/foundation/news/waddle-wonderful-walk (Accessed: 9/10/2024)
Edwards, L. (2024). Start of the African Penguin’s Breeding Season. Available at: https://www.raggycharters.co.za/page/start-of-the-african-penguins-breeding-season (Accessed: 4/10/24)
King, A.; Two Oceans Aquarium. (2020). Smile and wave, boys! Penguins take over Cape Town aquarium. Available at: https://www.news24.com/news24/bi-archive/two-oceans-penguins-2020-5 (Accessed: 9/10/2024)
Lange, S. (2020). So this is where our sards go. Available at: https://thesardine.co.za/tag/trawlers/ (Accessed: 4/10/24)
Levin, S. (2024). SANCCOB – saves seabirds. Available at: https://www.algoafm.co.za/algoa-cares/sanccob-saves-seabirds (Accessed: 9/10/2024)
NOOW. (2023). What is Happening? Available at: https://www.africanpenguinnotonourwatch.org/what-is-happening (Accessed: 26/09/24)
SANCCOB. (2018). Volunteer open day. Available at: https://sanccob.co.za/news/volunteer-open-day/ (Accessed: 9/10/2024)
Shetler, S. (2024). Quirky Attraction: The Penguins of Boulders Beach, South Africa. Available at: https://quirkytravelguy.com/boulders-beach-penguins-south-africa/ (Accessed: 9/10/2024)
The Telegraph. (2009). The Cape of Good Hope penguins at Boulders Beach. Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/earthpicturegalleries/5082862/The-Cape-of-Good-Hope-penguins-at-Boulders-Beach.html (Accessed: 9/10/2024)
Verwoerd, M. (2022). This is not the march of the African penguins we want to see. Available at: https://www.melanieverwoerd.co.za/melanie-verwoerd-articles/this-is-not-the-march-of-the-african-penguins-we-want-to-see-16082022 (Accessed: 4/10/24)
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