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.
NEWS AND UPDATES
Too Hot to Handle
During recent work in the penguin colonies a testing procedure used was thermal imaging. Penguins nesting in exposed surface nests were measured with temperatures on their backs exceeding 145 degrees, while those in nests just a couple of feet away were measured at about 80 degrees. That is an absolutely massive difference for the birds.
New Plush Penguins
A new shipment of plush penguins (both adults and chicks) have arrived in November 2022 and are available for purchase in the store. These are environmentally friendly hand-sewn penguins and all profits support the continued installation of artificial penguin nests.
Penguin Chicks
With well over a thousand nests already in five of the penguin colonies we anxiously await each breeding season to see the results of all the work. The nests are continuously monitored in all of the colonies and are seeing very high usage rates and a significant number of penguin chicks. More safe nesting locations means more penguin chicks.