National Post

RESCUED PENGUINS WADDLE HOME

ENDANGERED SPECIES

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CAPE TOWN •

About 100 African penguins were returned to their native habitat off the South African coast yesterday, waddling joyously back into the sea.

The birds, an endangered species, were plucked from the ocean last month after their bodies became covered in oil, which gummed their feathers together.

The authoritie­s said about 400 penguins were affected, probably by oil discharged by passing ships.

“We believe that in many cases, ship captains are illegally flushing their bunkers,” said Alan Jardine, chief executive of the South African National Foundation for the Conservati­on of Coastal Birds.

“It would be wonderful if everyone at large realized that we have a fragile Earth and by hurting the Earth we are really hurting ourselves,” he told the South African Broadcasti­ng Corp.

The first oiled birds were spotted on Dyer Island, off the southern coast, at the end of July, while others were found at Betty’s Bay, one of only three known breeding colonies of the species on the mainland.

The rescued birds had to be intensivel­y scrubbed. There were day and night washing teams, and at one stage an appeal went out for more towels.

The penguins also had to be fed their usual diet of fish — they prefer anchovies, pilchards, mackerel and herrings, but will also eat squid and crustacean­s — until they were strong enough to be returned to the wild. The whole process takes three to four weeks.

The birds are part of only 50,000 breeding pairs of African penguins left.

The penguins, which stand about 60 centimetre­s tall, have a broad band of black in the shape of an upside-down horseshoe on their fronts and black spots scattered over their chest area.

They make a loud braying sound that has given them the name the “ Jackass penguin.”

At one time, their numbers were estimated in the millions, but they have dwindled as a result of hunting and the invasion of their habitat.

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