Strong winds and cold wet weather are causing a sharp decline in the penguin population in the breeding colonies of Addo Elephant National Park’s islands.
Strong winds and cold wet weather are causing a sharp decline in the penguin population in the breeding colonies of Addo Elephant National Park’s islands.
“The rain is causing the penguin chicks to become wet while the strong winds are freezing them to death,” remarked Megan Taplin, who is the Regional Communications Manager of the South African National Parks Board.
The two sets of penguin chicks are only a few weeks old and about two months old and are situated in Bird Island in Algoa Bay.
The park rangers noticed some deaths on the morning of 15 June, which have resulted in the demise of over 480 chicks.
There have also been deaths recorded on St Croix Island near Port Elizabeth, where the largest breeding colony of African penguins in South Africa is situated.
Park rangers hope to be able to reach St Croix Island by the end of the week to find a solution to the situation.
But due to the rough seas it is difficult to access the island at present so they are unable to determine how many penguin chicks have died.
The African Penguin has recently been classified as an endangered species. “The population has decreased and research is still being done; the main problem being the food source of fish such as sardines and pilchards which have decreased in numbers because of overfishing,” says Taplin.
The park rangers are currently stationed on Bird Island and are trying to assist the remaining penguin chicks by providing temporary shelters made from materials such as old pipes available on the island. “We are trying to prevent the situation although it is naturally occurring,” says Taplin.
