Collecting the Oiled Penguins

Collecting the oiled penguins

As soon as the oiled penguins started coming ashore teams of volunteers under the direction of staff at Robben Island and SANCCOB started herding the oiled birds into pens on the beaches. More experienced volunteers had to catch oiled penguins that had fled inland and were hiding in thick undergrowth. Catching penguins under these conditions is very hard work.

Once the penguins were rounded up so they were caught. Holding onto a clean penguin is difficult enough - they are very strong birds and do not like being handled - they can not only give a nasty bite, but also bruise your arms by beating you with their strong flippers. As these birds were so slippery from the oil the whole task of holding them was much more difficult - here Phil Whittington, one of the most experienced of penguin handlers shows how it is done.

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Once the penguins have been caught they are put into specially made cardboard boxes - three penguins to a box - and the boxes are carried by other handlers (here employees of Cape Nature Conservation) to lorries ready to be transported to the dockside.

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After the short drive to the dock more helpers assist unloading the boxes from the trucks and putting them on the ferry to take them back to the mainland where the penguins can be treated.

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