A batch of African penguin chicks needs food and rehabilitation. Since the beginning of November, the African Penguin and Seabird Sanctuary (APSS), with the help of conservation partners, CapeNature, retrieved several African penguin chicks from Dyer Island.
The chicks were transported to the sanctuary, where they will be fed and rehabilitated while their parents finish moulting on the island.
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The penguin chicks are removed from Dyer Island and spend up to 6 weeks at APSS while their parents undergo a full feather change.
The rationale behind intervening and relocating the chicks from Dyer Island to the sanctuary is not an indictment of African penguins as inadequate parents. On the contrary, they excel in nurturing and feeding their offspring, even in challenging conditions. As October-November marks the end of the breeding season, the chicks are expected to be robust and well-nourished, prepared to leave the nest and begin independent survival.
The parents, however, face a dilemma during this period. In addition to caring for their young, they must undergo a complete feather change. This necessitates accumulating sufficient fat reserves, equivalent to about three times their usual body weight, to remain on land throughout the moulting process.
During this time, they are not waterproof and, consequently, cannot hunt. Some parents, due to various circumstances, initiate their moult before their offspring have reached the fledgling stage. For these chicks, the options are grim—they may either perish from starvation on the island or venture into the ocean without the requisite fat reserves to navigate the challenges of the wild.
In a perfect world, one could argue that this is a natural process of selection, but then, in a perfect world, humans would not have removed millions of penguin eggs to be consumed as a delicacy or scraped tons of guano off the penguin nesting islands. Removing the guano robbed the penguins of their insulated, protected burrows. They were forced to nest on the surface, exposing both their eggs and chicks to opportunistic predators like seagulls.
So, we do not reside in a perfect world, and therefore, we need to take some active conservation measures to try and prevent the possible extinction of one of South Africa’s most iconic animals. With less than 1% of the original African penguin population left in the wild, we need to act.
Removing underweight chicks and chicks of moulting parents and hand-raising them is but one part of the bigger African Penguin Biodiversity Management Plan.
One donation from you is one small step towards preventing the extinction of the African penguin. The number of chicks that will now be in the care of the sanctuary will require more time, resources, and especially fish.
Visits to APSS and cash donations are also greatly appreciated, along with donations of old towels or newspapers.
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Picture: Supplied
