Endangered Penguins - African penguin

Of the species listed as vulnerable, the species most at risk is probably the African penguin. The population of African penguins has declined steeply this century and is still in decline. There are many different causes. Earlier in the century, guano was collected from the main breeding islands; removing the guano led to a dramatic reduction in potential nesting sites as the birds liked to make burrows in the thick covering of guano. Egg collection also contributed to the large scale reduction of the population from several million at the turn of the century to somewhere around 50,000 pairs today.

In recent years there have been some significant population changes whose causes are not fully understood, but are widely believed to be due to the increase in commercial fishing off the South African coast. Ten years ago the largest populations were on Dassen and Dyer Islands off the Cape. However, the population on Dyer island has been falling rapidly over the last few years, so much so that some fear that it may soon become unviable. At the same time, the population on St Croix Island near Port Elizabeth has risen and this island is now home to the second largest colony of African penguins. A few other colonies have also been growing at the same time, notably those on Robben Island and the principal mainland colony at Boulders Beach. Nevertheless, the growth in these colonies is still much less than the reductions reported on Dyer so that the population remains in overall decline.

Since all the colonies are close to major shipping lanes the African penguin is extremely susceptible to the risk of oil spills. Indeed, in recent years there have been two major spills that have claimed many penguins, despite the excellent work of the volunteers at SANCCOB to rescue and rehabilitate these birds.

The "Treasure" oil spill in 2000 was major cause for concern and led to what was probably the largest ever rescue, relocation and rehabilitation project.  

It had been hoped that the colonies around Port Elizabeth would be less at risk form oil spills; however, there are plans to build a major sea oil terminal on the coast very near St Croix (one of the largest colonies). In fact the new sea walls would come within a kilometre of this island. The potential for disaster is very great, if just one large ship were to run aground on the rocky shores the resulting oil spillages could decimate one of the largest remaining African penguin colonies.

What can you do? You can support SANCCOB, the organisation that rescues oiled birds and campaigns for better conservation measures. SANCCOB is a purely voluntary organisation that is permanently starved of funds. Contact SANCCOB at PO Box 11-116, 7443 Bloubergrant, South Africa.