Don’t throw away those extra baby socks your child no longer fits into. The Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) has recently put out a request for donations for these tiny socks to help keep their birds warm.
“We have a very important purpose for second hand baby and toddler socks. The colour, thread count or being paired doesn’t matter at all. We place little socks on the birds’ feet and flippers to keep them warm during surgery to help maintain a constant body temperature,” they wrote on Facebook.
If you have any extra socks, please drop them off at the SANCCOB centre at 22 Pentz Drive in Table View anytime between 8am and 5pm on weekdays.
SANCCOB is a registered non-profit organisation whose primary objective is to reverse the decline of seabird populations through the rescue, rehabilitation and release of ill, injured, abandoned and oiled seabirds – especially endangered species like the African penguin.
In a normal year where no oil spills occur, SANCCOB treats up to 2 500 seabirds, of which approximately 1 500 are African penguins. The remainder includes various cormorants species (including the endangered Bank cormorant and Cape cormorant); various species of terns; pelagic birds such as albatrosses, gannets and petrels; oystercatchers, gulls, pelicans and other coastal birds found in the region. On average, 24 different seabird species are rehabilitated every year.
Picture: Facebook / SANCCOB
