Handled with glove..
Hospital’s urgent mission for endangered African penguins
“P-P-PICK up a Penguin” was the catchphrase made famous in the 1980s advert for a chocolate biscuit.
But volunteers at a penguin conservation project say that the task is the hardest part of their day and can be rather painful. Staff wear thick protective sleeves during feeding time when chicks try to peck them. The penguin hospital, which treats injured, abandoned, sick or oiled birds, is officially known as SANCCOB – the South African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds.
Yesterday we revealed how the beloved birds are teetering on the brink of extinction from overfishing and climate change. Scientists say that unless urgent action is taken, African penguins will disappear by 2035 with just 8,300 breeding pairs left in South Africa.
On average 500 to 600 African penguin chicks and 300 to 400 eggs are cared for each year at the hospital, with numbers increasing.
This is mainly due to chicks being abandoned during heatwaves, flash floods or by moulting parents. Researcher Albert Snyman said intervention was vital to save every chick they can from starving to death – essential for the survival of this species.
COLONIES
He said: “As African penguin populations are facing a crisis due to a diminished food supply near their nesting colonies, there is a substantial risk that this species could eventually become extinct without action.
“Numerous chicks are abandoned around this time of year, just before their parents start their moulting cycle, when they develop a new set of waterproof feathers. Adults need to make foraging trips and can end up leaving their chicks behind.
“Heat stress can also lead to chicks being abandoned or by burrows being washed out by flash floods.”
So far this year, 279 African penguins have been through the doors of the Cape Town hospital, alongside one Rockhopper and a King Penguin thrown off course.
The centre’s primary objective is to reverse the decline of seabird populations through rescue, rehabilitation and release.
Some are so emaciated upon arrival they are suffering from dehydration, slow heart rates and crackling noises in their lungs.
Vet Dr David Roberts said: “Over the last decade, sourcing sufficient food has become an immense struggle for the African penguin species. They are coming through our doors starving.
“It is very difficult to save birds in this state but we go to great lengths by putting them on drips and giving transfusions.
“If we are lucky we can save them and release them for a second chance in the wild. But this is not a long-term solution. They need more fish in the ocean.”
If we’re lucky we can save them and release them for a second chance in wild
VET DR DAVID ROBERTS ON THE WORK OF SANCCOB