African penguins

WHERE DO THEY LIVE? Penguins are odd-looking but they’re also fascinating. Here’s more on . . . APPEARANCE

YOU often see them in animated movies – cuddly blackand-white birds that waddle around in icy climates. But did you know we have our own penguins, called African penguins? The African penguin is found on the southern coast of Africa – which is of course how the bird got its name. It’s the only penguin species that breeds on the African coast.

There are about 27 colonies on 24 islands between Namibia and Algoa Bay in Port Elizabeth. There’s also a colony in Namibia and two on the South African mainland: at Betty’s Bay in the Overberg, Western Cape, and at Boulders Beach in Cape Town.

These penguins like the cold Benguela current because it contains plenty of food. They live in colonies which are almost like penguin villages.

The penguins spend a lot of time in the water, but they usually lay their eggs on rocky islands. Most other penguin species live in places where it’s cold and icy, but the African penguin has to find shade to survive the heat of the day so it seeks natural shelter and digs holes.

In the past people collected penguin droppings (guano) to use as fertiliser, which meant the penguins had to adapt because they no longer had enough guano in which to dig holes. That’s why they now build their nests mainly under bushes or large rocks, which leaves them vulnerable to predators.

This is one of the reasons why there are considerably fewer penguins today than there were in the past. On land the African penguin looks pretty clumsy, waddling along with its wings folded on either side of its body. But in the water it’s a different story, because it’s adapted specially for life in the

You can identify an African penguin by the pink glands above its eyes. These help to keep the bird’s body temperature constant.

The African penguin gets its characteristic black and white feathers only when it’s fully grown. Chicks are covered in fluff and greyish feathers appear later. sea. The African penguin has a short tail and wings that look almost like fins. These help it swim – in fact, it can’t fly with its wings.

In addition its feet – like those of other water birds – are webbed to help it to move quickly through water. An African penguin usually swims at a speed of 4-7 km/h, but when it hunts it can reach up to 20 km/h. It can also hold its breath for a long time (on average 2½ minutes), especially when it dives to depths of up to 130 m. Its feathers are thick and waterproof to keep it dry and warm in cold water. It has a lot more feathers than most other bird species.

Penguins moult once a year, when they lose all their feathers. They’re replaced by new ones to make the birds waterproof again. This happens in the colonies and takes about 20 days. Penguins can’t swim while they’re moulting.

It’s no accident that penguins are black and white – these colours protect them from predators by camouflaging them.