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Breaking News!! Rescue the Remedy for Orphaned African Penguin Chicks
17 November 2008

Nic Bothma (epa Photos)

Rescuers have gone to the relief of hundreds of African Penguin chicks orphaned and in danger of starving to death in colonies around the Western Cape. CapeNature officials embarked on a mercy mission to rescue an initial 35 chicks from Dyer Island. Subsequently, a further 5 abandoned chicks have been removed from Dyer Island and 13 chicks from Robben Island.

The penguins have been taken to (SANCCOB) which will hand rear the rescued fluff balls over the next three months, before releasing them back into their home colonies.

On several penguin colonies chicks that hatch late in the season (from September onwards) are frequently abandoned by their parents when the weather grows warmer and as food supplies diminish. These chicks are unlikely to survive if left in the wild, and the problem is exacerbated by the fact that adult penguins begin their annual moult at this time of the year. During moulting the penguins shed their old feathers and grow new ones, leaving them not waterproof and therefore unable to swim, catch fish and unable to feed their chicks. On arrival the chicks will be given an electrolyte solution, and sorted into groups according to their size. In the coming three months SANCCOB’s team of dedicated staff and volunteers will have their work cut out feeding the ravenous youngsters, the smallest of which will have to be fed and hydrated every three hours. In addition to fish, the penguins get a daily dose of a special fish formula.

“In 2006, SANCCOB reared 841 orphaned chicks and last year another 481 needed our help. More than 80 per cent of the rescued chicks were released back into the wild to start contributing to the breeding population in the next couple of years. Our research shows that hand rearing African penguins has a significant effect on conserving the wild population, with hand reared and released chicks showing higher survivorship to breeding age and higher productivity than birds that fledge naturally in the wild,” said Venessa Strauss, SANCCOB’s CEO. Numbers of African Penguins have shown a catastrophic decline in recent years. In 2008 the African penguin population reached an all-time low of 26, 000 breeding pairs down from an estimated two-million pairs at the turn of the 20th Century.

SANCCOB has joined hands with other major conservation role players to address the catastrophic decline in African penguins by initiating the Chick Bolstering Project. Other partners include SANCCOB’s principle partner, IFAW, as well as Bristol Zoo Gardens, ADU at the University of Cape Town, CapeNature, Dyer Island Conservation Trust and Marine and Coastal Management.

SANCCOB completely relies on the help of the public to continue their work to save the African penguin. You can help SANCCOB to cover the costs of rearing the 53

African penguin chicks. If you would like to Adopt a Penguin chick for a loved one for Christmas!