King penguin reigns in lonely splendour
Protected as it moults 1 700km from home
THE King penguin found waddling along Buffels Bay Beach at Cape Point at the weekend, some 1700km from the nearest colony home to its kind, has been moved to a secluded beach.
The move aims to keep the animal away from predators like caracals and leopards, as well as away from diseases and disease-carrying ticks.
There is also no road access to the beach, nor hiking trails, so humans may not disturb the exotic visitor.
Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (Sanccob) clinical vet Dr David Roberts said SANParks rangers were keeping a watchful eye on the penguin daily.
No genetic testing has been done on the bird, so its gender is not known.
Roberts said the penguin had the whole beach to itself, and liked to take walks on its own.
Sometimes when rangers looked for it, they found the animal lying on a rock or between greenery.
“The King penguin doesn’t have any predators in the wild, but on South Africa’s beaches there are threats of caracals and leopards. On its secluded beach there are no other penguins. If it does come across the predator, it can jump into the water,” Roberts said.
The King penguin is not from South Africa or found here.
The closest colony home is the Prince Edward Islands in the subantarctic Indian Ocean, some 1 700km away.
SANParks spokesperson Lauren Howard-Clayton said it was still unknown how the penguin arrived at Cape Point, but it could either have made the swim on its own, or have been transported by ship, which has been documented to have happened before.
“It is being monitored daily by the rangers, and it is doing well. Table Mountain National Park is being supported by Sanccob who have completed a second health check on the penguin, which is still in good health.
“The rangers will monitor the penguin for as long as it stays in the area,” Howard-Clayton said.
Roberts said the penguin would be left alone on the beach for the next few weeks, as its moulting, or shedding process, had already started.
“It will sit on the beach for the next two to three weeks and lose its feathers, so new feathers may grow.
“We won’t disturb it too much. Should rangers report that it is looking ill, we’ll intervene,” Roberts said.