Saving Penguins:
The African Penguin Nest Project
African penguins are in serious trouble.
Their numbers have plummeted over the past century due to the destruction of nesting sites, egg poaching, oil spills, global climate change, and competition for food resources with commercial fishing. There is hope to save this iconic species, through the
African Penguin Nest Project.
This year, our team documented the struggle of the African penguin, and the effort to deploy artificial nests.
NEWS AND UPDATES
Live on Facebook
The African penguin nest project is live on Facebook. We're dedicated to providing updated information about the struggles that the African penguin population is facing and highlighting the ways that each of us can help save them. Click the Facebook link at the bottom of the page, like and share our site, and help us save this iconic species.
Penguins Get Homes
Hundreds of nests were deployed this spring on Bird Island, off the coast of South Africa in SANParks' Addo Elephant National Park. The penguins took to the nests quickly, moving in as fast as they were installed. One bird laid an egg in a nest just four hours after it was put out! And in just four days, penguin families had occupied 98% of the nests.
Penguin Chicks
With well over a thousand nests already in five of the penguin colonies we've been anxiously awaiting breeding season to see the results of all the work. While the global pandemic has reduced the amount of nest monitoring possible, for those areas that are being checked we're seeing very high usage rates and a significant number of penguin chicks.