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Saving African Penguins Together: A Powerful Start to 2025

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Penguins

Saving African Penguins Together: A Powerful Start to 2025

We’ve started 2025 with a bang – and a renewed sense of urgency. Over the past month, SANCCOB admitted 78 abandoned African Penguin eggs and 25 vulnerable chicks, with more likely on the way. These precious lives were left exposed to extreme heat, but thanks to our dedicated seabird rangers, who acted swiftly at the colonies, they were brought to safety.  

At SANCCOB, we are proud to be pioneers in seabird conservation. We are the first organisation in the world to artificially incubate wild-origin African Penguin eggs and hand-rear chicks for release back into the wild. This groundbreaking initiative, known as the Chick Bolstering Programme, is officially recognised under the African Penguin Biodiversity Management Plan as a critical step toward halting the species’ decline.  

African Penguins are on the brink of extinction, but together, we can change that. With your help, we can give these tiny penguins the second chance they deserve. Your donation will help us cover the costs of life-saving care, from feeding formulas to veterinary expertise.  

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Will you join us in saving the African Penguin?  Every egg and chick represents hope for a species hanging on by a thread. Let’s make 2025 the year we fight back against extinction—one penguin at a time. DONATE HERE!! 

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Adding to the challenges, we were alerted to an oil spill affecting African Penguins along the coastline between Hout Bay and Kommetjie on the 22nd of January. So far, 18 oiled African Penguins have been brought into our care, with conservation authorities actively surveying for more.

The type and source of the oil remain unknown, but this incident is a stark reminder that oil pollution continues to threaten the survival of marine species, including the critically endangered African Penguin. The oil, light in color and difficult to spot on feathers, has a distinct odor and poses a serious risk to these already vulnerable birds.

We urge the public to avoid capturing any oil-affected birds for their own safety and to report sightings to SANCCOB directly. 

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The African Penguin population has plummeted by 97%, with fewer than 10,000 breeding pairs remaining. A primary cause of this decline is the lack of food due to competition with commercial fishing near key breeding colonies. Despite existing no-take zones, seabird scientists have proven they are insufficient to safeguard the penguins’ survival.

A recent study launched by Blue Marine Foundation on Penguin Awareness Day, 20 January 2025, reveals strong public backing for government-led intervention to save this species. The study also highlights a strong belief in human responsibility for the crisis: 53% of those polled attribute the African Penguin’s decline to human activities, such as overfishing and pollution.

Public sentiment around the emotional and economic impact of losing the species is also clear. Over 60% said they would feel devastated by the extinction of the flightless bird, and an almost equal number [59%] stated it would harm tourism. These findings are echoed in a recent socio-economic report that determined the total tourism value of all penguin colonies is estimated to be in the considerable range of R613 – R2702 million per year.

Further, more than half of respondents [54%] claim the extinction of the species would damage the country’s international reputation as a leader in wildlife conservation.

These findings affirm that South Africans want stronger conservation leadership. Together with BirdLife South Africa, SANCCOB is taking legal action to challenge ineffective fishing policies and demand biologically meaningful no-take zones.

As global citizens, you can help us amplify this cause. Sign the OnlyOne petition urging the South African government to enact vital protections for the African Penguin.

Your support also makes an immediate impact. Donations fund rescue efforts, chick-rearing programs, and advocacy for stronger protections.

Source: SANCCOB

African Penguin newly classified as ‘critically endangered’ as breeding pairs fall below 10,000

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Penguin

Lonely Penguin by Andries Janse Van Rensburg

African Penguin newly classified as ‘critically endangered’ as breeding pairs fall below 10,000

  • The International Union for Conservation of Nature [IUCN] has uplisted the African Penguin from Endangered to Critically Endangered, underscoring the species’ extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
  • The bird has already lost 97% of its population and could be extinct in less than 4,000 days if nothing changes.
  • Among other threats, commercial purse-seine fishing is competing with penguins for sardines and anchovies, their main source of food, leaving them hungry and making it harder to breed.
  • Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds [SANCCOB] and BirdLife South Africa have initiated landmark litigation against the South African government to enforce greater protection of this species.
  • The public can advocate for the African Penguin by signing an OnlyOne petition here, and watch a campaign video narrated by ocean conservationist, Zandi Ndhlovu here.

NEWS, CAPE TOWN, 28 OCTOBER: The African Penguin, with its distinctive black-and-white tuxedo and playful nature, is a cherished symbol in South Africa and around the world. Yet despite its popularity, the species has been uplisted to Critically Endangered by the IUCN, revealing it is one step away from becoming extinct in the wild. The bird is the first penguin species (of the 18 species globally) to meet the criteria for this classification.

SANCCOB and BirdLife South Africa, with the support of ocean conservation charity Blue Marine, are urging the South African government and the international community to take immediate action to save the African Penguin.

Faced with numerous threats, a primary cause of the African Penguin’s decline is a lack of available food due to climate change, made worse by competition from commercial fishing around its breeding colonies, which impacts the species’ survival and breeding success. While there are existing no-take zones where commercial fishing is prohibited to help the penguins better access the fish they feed on, primarily sardines and anchovies, research by seabird scientists has demonstrated that these zones are currently inadequate for penguin conservation.

The Red List rings the alarm louder for urgent action

The IUCN Red List is the international “Gold Standard” tool for measuring species extinction risk; to date, 163,040 species have been assessed, of which 45,321 are threatened with extinction.

SANCCOB, BirdLife South Africa, and Blue Marine have long been raising the alarm for better protection of the African Penguin. However, the reclassification to Critically Endangered marks a crucial juncture in the species’ future. While the Red List indicates the detrimental status of global biodiversity, it also points towards an urgent need for solutions, and the prioritisation of collaborative, cross-sector action before it’s too late.

The current commercial fishery no-take zones in South Africa surround six African Penguin colonies that represent 76% of the global African Penguin population. Yet research finds that these zones fail to sufficiently protect important feeding areas for the penguins, forcing them to compete with commercial fisheries for food.

Scientists such as BirdLife South Africa’s Dr Alistair McInnes and the University of Exeter’s Dr Richard Sherley recommend expanded and achievable no-take zones that provide more substantial benefits to penguins without causing disproportionately high costs to the purse-seine fishing industry.

International support is needed

SANCCOB and BirdLife South Africa have united to take legal action to enforce greater protection of the species. Launched by the Biodiversity Law Centre earlier this year, the two non-profit organisations have instituted a case against the office of the South African Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, to challenge the Minister’s “biologically meaningless” island closures to purse-seine fishing around key African Penguin colonies.

The legal action seeks to substitute the existing commercial fishery no-take zones with alternative zones designed using an internationally-recognised process that will better align them to the African Penguins’ important feeding areas, while minimising the impacts on the purse-seine fishing industry.

Meanwhile, the international community can help push governments to enact the changes needed to safeguard the species by signing the OnlyOne petition created by SANCCOB, BirdLife South Africa and Blue Marine.

The African Penguin also contributes to ecotourism and the local economy. A new socio-economic report found the total value of Boulders penguin colony and all other penguin colonies was estimated to be in the considerable range of R613 – 2702 million per year.

Natalie Maskell, CEO, SANCCOB said “The IUCN uplisting to Critically Endangered means that the African Penguins are just one step away from becoming extinct in the wild. SANCCOB will continue to fight for the future of this iconic species; we must remain optimistic that their trajectory can be reversed.”

Nicky Stander, Head of Conservation, SANCCOB said “Seeing a 97% loss in African Penguin populations is devastating and knowing they are now officially ‘Critically Endangered’ is a sobering thought. In just over a decade, they could no longer exist, which not only has an impact on our marine ecosystem, but also on South Africa’s economy and ecotourism. These animals are a key indicator of the wider ecological health of our ocean and are beloved worldwide. We cannot wait any longer for change.”

Dr Richard Sherley, Senior Lecturer, Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter states “The African Penguin’s uplisting to Critically Endangered highlights a much bigger problem with the health of our environment. Despite being well-known and studied, these penguins are still facing extinction, showing just how severe the damage to our ecosystems has become. If a species as iconic as the African Penguin is struggling to survive, it raises the question of how many other species are disappearing without us even noticing. We need to act now—not just for penguins, but to protect the broader biodiversity that is crucial for the planet’s future.”

Alistair McInnes, Seabird Conservation Programme Manager, BirdLife South Africa points out that “The availability of sardine and anchovy is the key driver of the African Penguin population and the sustainable management of purse-seine fishing, such as the implementation of effective no-take zones around the last remaining large colonies, is a critical intervention to help conserve this species. If we don’t act timeously we could lose Africa’s only penguin species within our lifetime.”

Jo Coumbe, Communications Director, Blue Marine said “The plight of the African Penguin, now critically endangered, is heartbreaking. Losing the bird isn’t just about losing a species, it’s a stark warning of the tragic impacts on biodiversity and the health of our ocean.”

Source: SANCCOB

The African penguin who survived against all odds

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The African penguin who survived against all odds

It warms our hearts to share success stories when African penguins survive against all odds.

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The above picture shows AP086 on admission (left) and after rehabilitation (right) at SANCCOB, Gqeberha. 

African Penguin patient number AP086 was the 86th African penguin to be admitted to the SANCCOB Gqeberha seabird hospital since January 2024. This tiny chick, weighing a mere 590g, was rescued from Bird Island in the Eastern Cape, after being attacked by adult African penguins. Exhausted, weak, and critically injured, AP086 was holding on by a thread when he was admitted to SANCCOB for care.

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Above: AP086 in recovery, but not yet out of the woods.

AP086 was given a 50/50 chance of survival on admission on the 2nd of July 2024, but this didn’t deter the dedicated SANCCOB team from doing everything they could to save him. After several days, his wounds started to show signs of healing; however, in mid-July, he developed a severe chest infection. He required multiple courses of antibiotics and up to four nebulization sessions per day and after 102 days in rehabilitation he fully recovered.  AP086 was successfully released back to Bird Island on the 12th of October 2024.

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Above: AP086 and five other African penguins being released back into the wild on the 12th of October 2024.

Although the endangered African penguin species is in crisis, AP086’s story is one of resilience. He reminds us that no matter what obstacles are in their way, they are stronger than we think. Thank you to our wonderful supporters – we couldn’t do this without you.

If you would like to learn more about SANCCOB, or help us save more penguins, please click HERE! 

Ethical Giving: A Meaningful Gift 

Many people search for meaningful gifts that make a difference. Rather than giving something that may contribute to landfill waste, why not choose a gift that supports wildlife conservation?

This year, you can adopt a penguin through SANCCOB, which makes a special gift for: Birthdays, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas or any other special occasion. Your adoption directly supports our efforts to care for endangered African penguins, offering hope for their future.

Why Penguin Adoptions Are the Perfect Gift?

  • Impactful Giving: Your adoption helps feed, rehabilitate, and care for endangered African penguins.
  • Eco-Friendly: No packaging, no wrapping – just a thoughtful gift that reduces landfill waste while supporting wildlife.
  • Personalized: Each adoption includes a certificate with your recipient’s name, making it a meaningful, customized gift.

Your donation ensures that SANCCOB can continue caring for penguins in need all year round. 

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Above: Adoption certificate example

Sincere regards, The SANCCOB team.

Source: SANCCOB 

Ground-breaking litigation launched to protect the African Penguin from extinction

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Ground-breaking litigation launched to protect the African Penguin from extinction

The African Penguin has lost 97% of its population. If current trends persist, the species will be extinct in the wild by 2035. 

On 19 March 2024, the Biodiversity Law Centre, representing BirdLife South Africa and the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB), initiated landmark litigation in the Pretoria High Court in the interests of Africa’s only penguin species: the Endangered African Penguin (Spheniscus demersus).  

Instituted against the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, the applicants’ challenge seeks the review and setting aside of the Minister’s 4 August 2023 decision on the closures to fishing around key African Penguin breeding colonies, instead of biologically meaningful closures.

The African Penguin faces extinction in the wild by 2035 if more is not done to curb the current rate of population decline. The crisis is driven primarily by their lack of access to prey, for which they must compete with the commercial purse-seine fishery which continues to catch sardine and anchovy in the waters surrounding the six largest African Penguin breeding colonies. Critically, these six colonies are home to an estimated 90% of South Africa’s African Penguins.

Ground-breaking

Kate Handley, Executive Director of the Biodiversity Law Centre, says: “This is the first litigation in South Africa invoking the Minister’s constitutional obligation to prevent extinction of an endangered species. It follows her failure – since at least 2018 – to implement biologically meaningful closures around African Penguin breeding areas, despite scientific evidence that such closures improve the species access to their critical sardine and anchovy food source, thereby contributing toward arresting the decline of the African Penguin.”

The Minister has statutory and constitutional obligations to ensure that necessary measures are put in place to prevent the African Penguin’s extinction. “The Minister has failed to fulfil these obligations to African Penguins, South Africans, the international community, and future generations. It is for this reason that we are taking her office to court,” Handley explains.

For more than six years, the Minister has placed her preference for a consensus-driven solution above her obligation to ensure the survival of the Endangered African Penguin. All the while, the African Penguin population has suffered an alarming decline of 8% per year on her watch.

Dr Alistair McInnes, Seabird Conservation Manager at BirdLife South Africa, says: “The African Penguin’s survival depends on the right decision being taken now. African Penguins at breeding colonies need access to food. Our challenge seeks to have the Minister take science-based decisions that are grounded on the internationally recognised and constitutionally enshrined precautionary principle. This is something that the Minister has consistently failed to do since 2018, notwithstanding having called multiple reviews.”

The impugned decision

The core of the applicants’ complaint against the Minister is her failure to implement biologically meaningful closures around African Penguin breeding areas. Instead, on 4 August 2023, she announced the continuation of inadequate “interim closures” around breeding colonies at Dassen Island, Robben Island, Stony Point, Dyer Island, St. Croix Island and Bird Island. These closures were first imposed in September 2022 while an international panel of experts extensively reviewed the science collected since 2008 as part of an Island Closure Experiment (ICE).

The panel recommended that closures of sardine and anchovy fishing grounds to commercial small pelagic fisheries around six main breeding colonies was an appropriate and necessary conservation intervention with demonstrable benefits to African Penguin populations. It also provided a method for determining the appropriate island delineations which would seek to optimise benefits of closures to African Penguins, while minimising costs to the small-pelagic purse-seine industry. In doing so, it put an end to scientific debates on how to determine closure delineations and also confirmed the appropriate method for determining African Penguins’ preferred foraging range.

The Panel’s recommendations were provided to the Minister in July 2023 with the express purpose of enabling the Minister to take definitive, science-based decisions regarding island closures after years of indecision and debate. During this time, in 2023, the species fell below the 10,000 breeding pairs mark for the first time in history. On 4 August 2023, the Minister announced her decision.

Dr Katta Ludynia, Research Manager at SANCCOB, says:

“The Minister was selective about which recommendations she followed. Inexplicably, she failed to follow the critical recommendation regarding how closures should be delineated. Instead, the Minister decided to extend the meaningless interim closures, unless agreement between the conservation sector and the fishing industry could be reached on an alternative.

The African Penguin population in South Africa has plummeted from 27,151 breeding pairs in 2008, when the ICE commenced, to 15,187 breeding pairs when the results of the experiment were first published and peer-reviewed in 2018, and now to only an estimated 8,750 breeding pairs. The Minister has unfortunately failed to act. Biologically meaningless closures are now in place until December 2033 – just more than a year from the possible extinction date of 2035.”

An irrational and unlawful decision

The applicants argue that this approach was patently irrational. First, it is unclear why certain recommendations should be followed but not others.  Second, and critically, the interim closures themselves are incapable of meeting the purpose of closures, namely to reduce competition between African Penguins and the purse-seine commercial fishing industry for sardines and anchovies. “Moreover, the notion that an alternative set of closures could be delineated by agreement between conservationists and industry defeats the purpose of the panel, which was initiated to end many rounds of disagreement between these stakeholder groups and the various conservation and fisheries focused branches of the DFFE,” says McInnes.

According to Handley, the Minister has also acted unlawfully. She says: “The Constitution and legislative scheme give rise to a duty to implement urgent measures to prevent the impending extinction of the African Penguin. These include the imposition of fishing closures which limit purse-seine anchovy and sardine fishing activities. Despite this clear obligation, the Minister has consistently failed to implement such closures.”

The applicants are asking the court to ensure that a set of meaningful closures identified using the recommendations of the panel are imposed around all six islands.  The Minister has had ample opportunity to do so, and a court faced with the evidence the applicants are placing before it will be in as good a position as the Minister to ensure the necessary conservation actions are urgently implemented. 

What are we doing about this crisis?

Handley says: “The review application is a watershed, and potentially precedent-setting case, as it stands to give content to the South African government’s obligation to protect Endangered species and, particularly in this instance, the African Penguin. It also takes a stance on the role of science-led decision-making in ensuring that future generations have their environment, and the well-being of an endangered species, protected.”

About the applicants

  • BirdLife South Africa is a non-profit organisation whose vision is a country and region where nature and people live in greater harmony, more equitably and more sustainably, while its mission is to conserve birds, their habitats and biodiversity through, inter alia, scientifically-based programmes and supporting the sustainable and equitable use of natural resources. BirdLife South Africa actively works towards the conservation of African Penguins through its Seabird Conservation Programme.
  • SANCCOB is registered as a non-profit company, non-profit organisation and public benefit organisation in terms of the laws of South Africa, operating from two facilities in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape. SANCCOB’s primary objective is to reverse the decline of seabird populations – flagship species being the endangered African penguin – through a multi-faceted conservation approach that includes rehabilitation and release of seabirds, implementation and consultancy of preparedness and response in the event of oil spills affecting marine wildlife, carrying out integral scientific research, provision of in-situ support to conservation managing authorities, skills development, and public awareness via environmental education.

About the Biodiversity Law Centre

  • The Biodiversity Law Centre is a non-profit organisation that seeks to use the law to protect and restore indigenous species and ecosystems in Southern Africa. As part of its Oceans and Coasts Programme, the Centre is committed to protecting African Penguin populations by addressing the key drivers of the species’ decline, including competition with small pelagic fisheries, and ship-to-ship bunkering in Algoa Bay.

Source: SANCCOB

Behaviour of Boulders Beach visitors putting penguins lives under threat

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By: Sukaina Ishmail

Boulders Beach

Boulders Beach visitors are threatening the survival of the penguin colony by overstepping the boundaries instead of maintaining a three-metre distance. Picture: Gary Van Wyk/African News Agency

Cape Town – Tourists and visitors to Boulders Beach are potentially threatening the survival of the penguin colony by overstepping the boundaries instead of maintaining the required three-metre distance.

Boulders Beach receives 2000 visitors daily during the year and during the December/January peak holiday period up to 5000 visitors enter the site.

Environmental activists and the public have been campaigning against the behaviour of tourists visiting the penguin colony after they observed how tourists would get very close to penguins to get a picture with them.

#SeaTheBiggerPicture organisation co-founder Shamier Magmoet said: “Tourists are getting unusually close to the penguins, which is prohibited at the site. They’re also seen touching the birds and would jump the boardwalk and fences to get a picture with the penguins.

“This behaviour puts a tremendous amount of stress on a creature that’s already an endangered species.”

Magmoet said there were limited rangers patrolling the area in comparison to the large number of visitors.

SA National Parks (SANParks) spokesperson Lauren Clayton said: “We certainly don’t allow, nor do we encourage tourists to get too close to the penguins.

“We can’t, however, be everywhere at once, so people will take chances getting close to the penguins when there’s no ranger around.”

Clayton said tourists needed to be at least 2-3metres away from the penguins, however if the birds showed signs of stress, visitors needed to respect them and give them the space they needed.

SA Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds research manager Katta Ludynia said the African penguin was listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and any disturbances of this penguin could lead to further endangerment of the birds.

“The summer months are of grave concern to us. This is typically a stressful time for the penguins as most of them go into moult.

“When a penguin goes into moult, it loses its capacity to keep warm in the water and during this time the penguin can’t go to forage in the waters.

“If a penguin runs into the water as a consequence of humans interfering with it, it can lead to the penguin’s death,” she said.

Clayton said: “SANParks will continue to track visitor numbers and redeploy staff based on the visitor numbers and pressures around the colony.”

Source: IOL

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