The Cookie is Crumbling for the African Penguin

-Act Now to Support Crumbling Colonies-

“With International Penguin Awareness Day on Saturday, 10 October 2023 behind us, it is essential to mention that the African penguin is on the brink of extinction,” says Christine Wessels from the Dyer Island Conservation Trust (DICT). “If the population numbers continue to plummet at the same alarming rate, they are destined to become functionally extinct by 2030.”

At the African Penguin and Seabird Sanctuary (APPS), the DICT-team joined the ‘Not on Our Watch’ (#NOOW) campaign in the biggest international Waddle to highlight the looming extinction of the African penguin in Kleinbaai. They hoped that this would help to spread the word of the plight of the African penguin far and wide.

Christine said African penguins are found only in South Africa and Namibia. “They are faced with multiple pressures that are cumulatively contributing to their decline,” she said. “Historically, egg-harvesting, guano collection, and big oil spills caused their numbers to shrink and the more recent decline has been attributed to food shortages caused by shifts in the distributions of their prey species, namely a significant drop in the numbers of anchovies and sardines in the sea and direct competition with fisheries for food.”

The DICT, a registered non-profit organization, aims to: Discover and understand this globally important marine ecosystem through world-class scientific research; Protect the long-term future of the species that live here, by translating this knowledge into evidence-based conservation initiatives and legislation; Educate our partners - local communities, legislators, and visitors - by informing and actively involving them in achieving our goals for the benefit of all.

The APSS in Kleinbaai is open daily from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

Hardus Botha