ON BORROWED TIME The African penguin only occurs in South Africa and Namibia, and nowhere else on earth. Their numbers are dwindling fast. How long will it be before they disappear completely from the wild? René Laing looks at the dire reality facing these seabirds, and a potential beacon of hope… PENGUIN’S LAST STAND IN COURT
Namibia
South Africa
The only two countries where the African penguin is found.
A penguin at Boulders Beach, Cape Town
P enguins are wobbly and cute; there is not much arguing about that. Yet, their numbers are plummeting quickly. It may sound like fear mongering, but if current trends continue, the African penguin could vanish from the wild by 2035. This is why BirdLife South Africa and the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) filed an application in the Pretoria High Court against the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment in March. They argued her policies are actively pushing the penguins closer to the brink. The issue revolves around the Minister’s failure to implement proper fishing restrictions around key penguin breeding colonies at Dassen Island, Robben Island,
Stony Point, Dyer Island, St. Croix Island and Bird Island. Penguin numbers have declined by 8% per year under Minister Barbara Creecy’s watch. Africa’s only penguin population has plummeted by over 97% from a peak of over 1 million in the early 1900s to less than 10 000 breeding pairs today. There is no good news if commercial purse seine fisheries continue unchecked. “This is the penguin’s last stand - we desperately needed to compel legal action to safeguard their survival,” said Dr Alistair McInnes, Seabird Conservation Manager at BirdLife South Africa. “The science clearly shows closures improve access to food for these iconic black and white birds. It’s time for decision-makers to champion conservation over consensus.” The South African government implemented temporary no-fishing zones around six major penguin breeding colonies in August 2023, but despite guidance on configuring the zones, the minister sent industry and conservation scientists back to the negotiating table. The minister’s announcement stated that if agreement on fishing limitations across sectors were not reached by the start of the 2024 small pelagic fishing season, the current interim fishing limitations would continue until the end of the 2033 fishing season. “These so-called closures ignore scientific recommendations on sizing and placement that were provided precisely to ensure overlap with important foraging areas for the penguins,” said Dr Katta Ludynia, a research manager with SANCCOB. “By not following expert
guidance, the Minister has failed her legal obligations to implement measures that will actually prevent extinction.” Furthermore, steps are underway to upgrade the African penguin’s status on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List from Endangered to Critically Endangered, only a step away from extinction in the wild. The decline meets the threshold criteria for the most at-risk listing. Penguins also face other threats. Apart from things like oil spills, 63 African penguins died in 2021 at the Boulders colony in Simon’s Town after an encounter with bees, while in 2022, two stray dogs killed 19 penguins from the same colony. Earlier this year, a honey badger claimed the lives of 11 individuals at the De Hoop Nature Reserve penguin colony. Both Boulders and De Hoop fall within Marine
Protected Areas, but land-based threats remain a reality.
CRITICALLY ENDAGERED The current conservation status of the species FOOD Penguins feed on anchovies and sardines 9 900 The number of breeding pairs remaining in the wild 2035 The year by which penguins will be extinct in the wild without action
If penguins disappear, it will influence tourism and the ecosystem. “Penguins are a sentinel species - where they decline rapidly, other sea life will surely follow. Local fishers and a lucrative tourism industry also lose if iconic wildlife is no more,” explains Ludynia. Kate Handley, Executive Director of the Biodiversity Law Centre, explained: “This is the first litigation in South Africa invoking the Minister’s constitutional obligation to prevent extinction of an endangered species. A ruling favouring science-led action could create an important precedent guiding future conduct and litigation regarding at-risk wildlife.”
Living the Wild Life (Self Published) Dr. Ian Whyte spent his formative years in Johannesburg and began his career in 1970, working for South African National Parks. Over 37 years, he conducted extensive research on diseases, drugs, lions, wildebeest, elephants, buffalo, hippos and baobab trees in Kruger National Park. Whyte gained expertise flying fixed-wing and helicopters to conduct aerial wildlife surveys. Take your own peak into his adventurous hands-on experiences, up-close encounters with dangerous game and
research on elusive species. The autobiographical work provides scientific insights alongside captivating anecdotes from a lifelong career immersed in African wildlife.
Order your copy by mailing merle.m.whyte@gmail.com
Dr. Ian Whyte
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