The African Penguin

The African Penguin (Spheniscus demersus), also known as the Black-footed Penguin is a species of penguin, confined to southern African waters.

Distribution

The African Penguin is found on the south-western coast of Africa, living in colonies on 24 islands between Namibia and Algoa Bay, near Port Elizabeth, South Africa. It is also known as theJackass Penguin for its donkey-like bray, although several species of South American penguins produce the same sound. It is the only penguin species that breeds in Africa and its presence gave name to the Penguin Islands.

With chicks, Boulders Beach, South Africa

Two colonies were established by penguins in the 1980s on the mainland near Cape Town, namelyBoulders Beach near Simon's Town and Stony Point in Betty's Bay. Mainland colonies probably only became possible in recent times due to the reduction of predator numbers, although the Betty's Bay colony has been attacked by leopards. The only other mainland colony is in Namibia, but it is not known when this was established.

Boulders Beach is a tourist attraction, for the beach, swimming and the penguins. The penguins will allow people to approach them as close as a meter (three feet).

Taxonomy

The closest relatives of the African Penguins are the Humboldt Penguin and Magellanic Penguinsfound in southern South America and the Galápagos Penguin found in the Pacific Ocean near the equator.

Description

African Penguins grow to 68–70 cm (26.7–27.5 in) tall and weigh between 2 and 5 kg (4.4 and 11 lb). They have a black stripe and black spots on the chest, the pattern of spots being unique for every penguin, like human fingerprints. They have pink glands above their eyes. The hotter the penguin gets, the more blood is sent to these glands so it may be cooled by the surrounding air, thus making the glands more pink. The males are larger than the females and have larger beaks, but their beaks are more pointed than those of the Humboldt. Their distinctive black and white colouring is a vital form of camouflage–white for underwater predators looking upwards and black for predators looking down onto the dark water.

African Penguin diving

Diet

African Penguins forage in the open sea, where they pursue fish such as pilchards and anchovies, and marine invertebrates such as squid.

Predation

Their predators in the ocean include sharks, cape fur seals and, on occasion, orcas. Land-based enemies include mongoose, genet, domestic cats and dogs, and the kelp gulls which steal their eggs and newborn chicks.

Relationship with Humans

Threats

African Penguin at the New England Aquarium.

(video) African Penguin swims at an aquarium in Tokyo.

Of the 1.5-million African Penguin population estimated in 1910, only some 10% remained at the end of the 20th-century. African penguin populations, which breed in Namibia and South Africa, have declined by 95 percent since preindustrial times.

Commercial fisheries have forced these penguins to search for prey farther off shore, as well as making them eat less nutritious prey, since their preferred prey has become scarce. Global climate change is also affecting these penguin's prey abundance.

As recently as the mid-twentieth century, penguin eggs were considered a delicacy and were still being collected for sale. Unfortunately, the practice was to smash eggs found a few days prior to gathering, to ensure that only fresh ones were sold. This added to the drastic decline of the penguin population around the Cape coast, a decline which was hastened by the removal of guanofrom islands for use as fertilizer, eliminating the burrowing material used by penguins. Penguins remain susceptible to pollution of their habitat by petrochemicals from spills, shipwrecks and cleaning of tankers while at sea.

Disaster struck on 23 June 2000, when the iron ore tanker MV Treasure sank between Robben Island and Dassen Island, South Africa, oiling 19,000 adult penguins at the height of the best breeding season on record for this vulnerable species. The oiled birds were brought to an abandoned train repair warehouse in Cape Town to be cared for. An additional 19,500 un-oiled penguins were removed from Dassen Island and other areas before they became oiled, and were released about 800 kilometres east of Cape Town, near Port Elizabeth. This gave workers enough time to clean up the oiled waters and shores before the birds could complete their long swim home (which took the penguins between 1 and 3 weeks). Some of the penguins were named and radio-tracked as they swam back to their breeding grounds. Tens of thousands of volunteers descended upon Cape Town to help with the rescue and rehabilitation process, which was overseen by IFAW(International Fund for Animal Welfare) and the South African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB), and took more than three months to complete. This was the largest animal rescue event in history; more than 91% of the penguins were successfully rehabilitated and released - an amazing feat that could not have been accomplished without such a tremendous international response.

Conservation

The African Penguin is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. The African Penguin is listed in the Red Data Book as an endangered species.

In September 2010, the African Penguin was listed as endangered under the U.S.A Endangered Species Act.

Research

Spheniscus demersus skull

In 2006, an aged captive African Penguin named Pierre was described as going bald. A special wetsuit was crafted for Pierre, which was worn all the time. Gradually, the feathers were regrown, and Pierre was officially the first penguin (and likely the first bird) to have bald spots restored.