The African penguin is more endangered than the white rhino, and it potentially faces extinction in just 15 years
It’s a balmy July morning, and a raucous troupe of African penguins is acting out their breeding drama on a sun-toasted Foxy Beach, in False Bay, outside Cape Town: Stage right, a courting pair necks coyly, beaks snipping like a barber’s shears. Nearby, another couple puts the last touches to their shallow nest, adding bits of washed-up kelp that are as dry as beef jerky. Two soon-to-be parents fuss over their egg, while a neighboring chick squawks fiercely for breakfast.
Historically, African penguins thrived offshore at islands extending from Hollams Bird Island off Namibia, around the tip of the continent, and along the coast to Algoa Bay. In the past, penguin population management efforts were site-specific, such as monitoring rookeries and recovering stricken eggs and chicks, or injured adults. If the 12-mile buffer plan is adopted, it would be the first time the health of the wider ecosystem is taken into consideration for penguin management. Sardines migrate great distances along the coastline, but should shoals move into the no-fishing buffers, foraging penguin parents would have dibs on the food needed for their chicks.
The Algoa population has fallen by about a third during the past two years alone, according to the 2021 census. If such drastic declines were to occur regionally, the African penguin would qualify for “critically endangered” listing by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, according to a report by a collaboration of government, nonprofit, and university marine scientists.
The Simon’s Town colony is also unusual for being close to city life. The nesting sites are easily accessible to visitors, along boardwalks or directly on beaches, making them among the few places where people can observe the penguins close at hand.
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