Picture the scene. They were a perfect pair, their appetites partially satiated by feeding on fish. Yet, now their chicks squawk with hunger, and their energy is depleting. African penguins mate for life and are good parents, yet they often face a cruel dilemma.
Each October/November marks the end of the African penguin breeding season, when the chicks are supposed to be fat, healthy, and ready to leave the nest.
The parents face a dilemma: not only do they have to feed their young, but they also need to undergo a full feather change. This means that they have to build up enough fat reserves (about three times their normal body weight) to stay on land for their entire molt. Penguins are not waterproof when they change into their new suits and, therefore, cannot go to sea to hunt. Some parents start their molt before their offspring has reached the fledgling stage. These chicks will either starve to death on the island or venture into the ocean without the required amount of fat reserves to allow them to survive the challenges of the wild.
Removing underweight chicks and chicks of molting parents, hand-raising them, and returning the chicks to the wild when they fledge and can fend for themselves are part of the larger African Penguin Biodiversity Management Plan.
We help make this possible by working with our partners in South Africa. We take active conservation measures to prevent the possible extinction of one of South Africa’s most iconic animals. With less than 1% of the original African Penguin population left in the wild, these adorable birds may become extinct in the wild (unable to breed enough to sustain their population) as early as 2035.
Here’s how we helped save over 350 African penguin chicks during a crucial molt season.
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