Help Rescue, Feed and Rehabilitate African Penguin Chicks

On Saturday, 5 November, African Penguin and Seabird Sanctuary and CapeNature retrieved 48 African penguin chicks from Dyer Island. Another 16 were removed from the island on Tuesday, 8 November. The little feathered ones are currently bunking down at the sanctuary, where they are being taken care of while their parents finish moulting.

The Reason For Removing African Penguin Chicks From Dyer Island

You may ask why the sanctuary intervenes and removes African Penguin chicks from Dyer Island and keeps them for up to six weeks. It’s not because African Penguins are bad parents, in fact they do an excellent job of raising and feeding their young despite some challenging circumstances. October and November are the last months of the breeding season, and chicks are supposed to be fat, healthy and ready to be kicked out of the nest and start fending for themselves. The parents are faced with a dilemma, not only do they have to feed their young, but they also need to undergo a full feather change. This means that they have to build up enough fat reserves which are about four times their normal body weight. The catch is they also need to do this while remaining on land for their entire moult because they are not waterproof, meaning they can’t hunt for food in the ocean. Some parents start moulting before their offspring have reached the fledgling stage. These chicks will either starve to death on the island or venture into the ocean without enough fat reserves for them to survive the challenges of the wild.

One could argue that this is a natural process of selection, but then in a perfect world man would not have removed millions of penguin eggs to be consumed as a delicacy, or scraped tons of guano off the penguin nesting islands. Removing the guano robbed the penguins of their insulated, protected burrows and they were forced to nest on the surface, exposing both their eggs and chicks to opportunistic predators such as seagulls. They also face situations like being covered in toxic oil.

Active Conservation Measures Needed To Prevent Possible Extinction

Active conservation measures are needed to try and prevent the possible extinction of one of South Africa’s most iconic animals. The predicted date for extinction in the wild is 2026, which is right around the corner. At the moment #EveryPenguinCounts. With less than 1% of the original African Penguin population left in the wild, we as custodians need to act, fast! Removing the underweight chicks and chicks of moulting parents and then hand-raising them is but one part of the bigger African Penguin Biodiversity Management Plan.

African Penguins Need Your Help - Donate Now!

One donation from you is one small step towards preventing the extinction of the African penguin. The number of chicks that are being cared for by African Penguin and Seabird Sanctuary your help! The sanctuary functions without corporate sponsorship so donations towards the help and food the chicks need are crucial and will go a long way to helping the cause. Remember, donors from South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States of America can receive tax benefits.

DONATE HERE

Visit The African Penguin and Seabird Sanctuary 

Cost - Free (donations welcomed)
Hours - 09:00 to 16:00 (seven days a week)
Feeding Time - 15:00

You are invited to visit the sanctuary in Kleinbaai. Please bring along any unused towels and old newspapers you have lying around the house that you don’t need anymore. This is a great educational outing where you can see the penguins and watch them being fed if you visit at feeding time. Afterwards, you can sit down for a cup of tea or coffee, and also shop for Christmas gifts at the curio shop, to help support the baby boom!

Source: https://dict.org.za/