African Penguin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
African Penguin
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Subphylum:
Vertebrata
Class:
Aves
Order:
Sphenisciformes
Family:
Spheniscidae
Genus:
Spheniscus
Species:
S. demersus
Binomial name
Spheniscus demersus
(Linnaeus,
1758)
The African Penguin
(Spheniscus demersus), also known as the Blackfooted Penguin (and
formerly as the Jackass Penguin), is found on the south-western coast of
Africa, living in colonies on 24 islands between Namibia and Algoa Bay, near Port
Elizabeth, South Africa, with the largest colony on Dyer Island, near
Kleinbaai. Two colonies were established by penguins in the 1980s on the
mainland near Cape Town at Boulders Beach near Simon's Town and Stony Point in Betty's
Bay. Mainland colonies probably only became possible in recent times due the
reduction of predator numbers, although the Betty's Bay colony has been
attacked by leopards. The only other mainland colony is in Namibia, but it is
not known when this was established.
Boulders Beach is a popular
tourist attraction, for the beach, swimming and the penguins. The penguins will
allow people to approach them as close as a meter (three feet), and so are much
photographed.
The closest relatives of
the African Penguins are the Humboldt and Magellanic penguins found in southern
South America and the Galápagos Penguin found in the Pacific Ocean near the equator.
African Penguins like warm weather.
African Penguins grow to
68-70 cm (26.7-27.5 in) tall and weigh between 2 and 4 kilograms. They have a
black stripe and black spots on the chest, the spots being unique for every
penguin, like human fingerprints. They have pink sweat glands above their eyes.
The hotter the penguin gets, the more blood is sent to these sweat glands so it
may be cooled by the surrounding air, thus making the glands more pink. The
males are larger than the females and have larger beaks, but their beaks are
more pointed than those of the Humboldt.
They breed throughout the
year, the main breeding season starting in February. Females lay two eggs, with
an incubation period of 38-42 days. They are a monogamous species and the
lifelong partners take turns to incubate their eggs and feed their young. The moulting
season is between October and February, with the majority of the birds moulting
in November and December, after which they head out to sea to feed (since they
do not feed during moulting season and remain on land). Their diet includes
small fish such as sardines and anchovies. The penguins obtain water from the
fish they eat.
African Penguins have an
average lifespan of 10-11 years, the females reaching sexual maturity at the
age of 4 years, and males at the age of 5 years. The highest recorded age for a
bird of this species has been 24, however several individual birds have lived
to be up to 40 years old in aquarium settings. The current population (as of
2003) estimated at 179,000 adults, with 56,000 breeding pairs.
As recently as the
mid-twentieth century, penguin eggs were considered a delicacy and were still
being collected for sale. Unfortunately, the practice was to smash any eggs
found a few days prior to gathering, in order to ensure that only fresh ones
were sold. This added to the drastic decline of the penguin population around
the Cape coast, a decline which was hastened by the removal of guano from
islands for use as fertilizer, eliminating the burrowing material used by
penguins. Penguins remain susceptible to pollution of their habitat by petrochemicals
from spills, shipwrecks and cleaning of tankers while at sea.
Disaster struck on June 23,
2000, when the iron ore tanker MV Treasure sank between Robben Island
and Dassen Island, oiling 19,000 adult penguins at the height of the best
breeding season on record for this vulnerable species. The oiled birds were
brought to an abandoned train repair warehouse in Cape Town to be cared for. An
additional 19,500 un-oiled penguins were removed from Dassen Island and other
areas before they became oiled, and were released about a thousand kilometres
east of Cape Town, near Port Elizabeth. This gave workers enough time to clean
up the oiled waters and shores before the birds could complete their long swim
home (which took the penguins between 2 and 3 weeks). Some of the penguins were
named and radio-tracked as they swam back to their breeding grounds (Peter,
Pamela and Percy - see Avian Demography Unit page referenced below). Tens of
thousands of volunteers descended upon Cape Town to help with the rescue and
rehabilitation process, which was overseen by IFAW (International Fund for
Animal Welfare) and the South African Foundation for the Conservation of
Coastal Birds (SANCCOB), and took more than three months to complete. Although
this was the largest animal rescue event in history, more than 91% of the
penguins were successfully rehabilitated and released - an amazing feat that
could not have been accomplished without such a tremendous international
response.
The African Penguin is one
of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of
African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
Miscellany
- The African Penguin is
listed in the Red Data Book as a vulnerable species.
- Of the 1.5-million
African Penguin population estimated in 1910, only some 10% remained at the end
of the 20th Century. The uncontrolled harvesting of penguin eggs (as a source
of food), and guano scraping, nearly drove the species to extinction.
- Because of their
donkey-like braying call they were previously named the Jackass Penguins. Since
several species of South American penguins produce the same sound, the local
birds have been renamed African Penguins, as they are the only example of the
species that breed in Africa.
- Their diet consists
mainly of squid and shoal fish such as pilchards and anchovy.
- They can swim at an
average speed of 7 km/hr, and can stay submerged for up to 2 minutes.
- Their enemies in the
ocean include sharks, Cape fur seals and, on occasion, killer whales (Orca).
Land-based enemies include mongoose, genet, domestic cats and dogs - and the kelp
gulls which steal their eggs and new born chicks.
- Their distinctive black
and white colouring is a vital form of camouflage- white for underwater
predators looking upwards and black for predators looking down onto the water.
- Peak-moulting time is
during December, after which they head out to sea to feed (since they do not
feed during moulting). They return in January to mate and begin nesting about
February to August.
References
- BirdLife International (2005). Spheniscus
demersus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006.
Retrieved on 05 Feb 2007. Database entry includes justification for why
this species is endangered
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=African_Penguin&action=history
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Spheniscus demersus |
The African Penguin
(Spheniscus demersus), also known as the Blackfooted Penguin (and
formerly as the Jackass Penguin), is found on the south-western coast of
Africa, living in colonies on 24 islands between Namibia and Algoa Bay, near Port
Elizabeth, South Africa, with the largest colony on Dyer Island, near
Kleinbaai. Two colonies were established by penguins in the 1980s on the
mainland near Cape Town at Boulders Beach near Simon's Town and Stony Point in Betty's
Bay. Mainland colonies probably only became possible in recent times due the
reduction of predator numbers, although the Betty's Bay colony has been
attacked by leopards. The only other mainland colony is in Namibia, but it is
not known when this was established.
Boulders Beach is a popular
tourist attraction, for the beach, swimming and the penguins. The penguins will
allow people to approach them as close as a meter (three feet), and so are much
photographed.
The closest relatives of
the African Penguins are the Humboldt and Magellanic penguins found in southern
South America and the Galápagos Penguin found in the Pacific Ocean near the equator.
African Penguins like warm weather.
African Penguins grow to
68-70 cm (26.7-27.5 in) tall and weigh between 2 and 4 kilograms. They have a
black stripe and black spots on the chest, the spots being unique for every
penguin, like human fingerprints. They have pink sweat glands above their eyes.
The hotter the penguin gets, the more blood is sent to these sweat glands so it
may be cooled by the surrounding air, thus making the glands more pink. The
males are larger than the females and have larger beaks, but their beaks are
more pointed than those of the Humboldt.
They breed throughout the
year, the main breeding season starting in February. Females lay two eggs, with
an incubation period of 38-42 days. They are a monogamous species and the
lifelong partners take turns to incubate their eggs and feed their young. The moulting
season is between October and February, with the majority of the birds moulting
in November and December, after which they head out to sea to feed (since they
do not feed during moulting season and remain on land). Their diet includes
small fish such as sardines and anchovies. The penguins obtain water from the
fish they eat.
African Penguins have an
average lifespan of 10-11 years, the females reaching sexual maturity at the
age of 4 years, and males at the age of 5 years. The highest recorded age for a
bird of this species has been 24, however several individual birds have lived
to be up to 40 years old in aquarium settings. The current population (as of
2003) estimated at 179,000 adults, with 56,000 breeding pairs.
As recently as the
mid-twentieth century, penguin eggs were considered a delicacy and were still
being collected for sale. Unfortunately, the practice was to smash any eggs
found a few days prior to gathering, in order to ensure that only fresh ones
were sold. This added to the drastic decline of the penguin population around
the Cape coast, a decline which was hastened by the removal of guano from
islands for use as fertilizer, eliminating the burrowing material used by
penguins. Penguins remain susceptible to pollution of their habitat by petrochemicals
from spills, shipwrecks and cleaning of tankers while at sea.
Disaster struck on June 23,
2000, when the iron ore tanker MV Treasure sank between Robben Island
and Dassen Island, oiling 19,000 adult penguins at the height of the best
breeding season on record for this vulnerable species. The oiled birds were
brought to an abandoned train repair warehouse in Cape Town to be cared for. An
additional 19,500 un-oiled penguins were removed from Dassen Island and other
areas before they became oiled, and were released about a thousand kilometres
east of Cape Town, near Port Elizabeth. This gave workers enough time to clean
up the oiled waters and shores before the birds could complete their long swim
home (which took the penguins between 2 and 3 weeks). Some of the penguins were
named and radio-tracked as they swam back to their breeding grounds (Peter,
Pamela and Percy - see Avian Demography Unit page referenced below). Tens of
thousands of volunteers descended upon Cape Town to help with the rescue and
rehabilitation process, which was overseen by IFAW (International Fund for
Animal Welfare) and the South African Foundation for the Conservation of
Coastal Birds (SANCCOB), and took more than three months to complete. Although
this was the largest animal rescue event in history, more than 91% of the
penguins were successfully rehabilitated and released - an amazing feat that
could not have been accomplished without such a tremendous international
response.
The African Penguin is one
of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of
African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
Miscellany
- The African Penguin is
listed in the Red Data Book as a vulnerable species.
- Of the 1.5-million
African Penguin population estimated in 1910, only some 10% remained at the end
of the 20th Century. The uncontrolled harvesting of penguin eggs (as a source
of food), and guano scraping, nearly drove the species to extinction.
- Because of their
donkey-like braying call they were previously named the Jackass Penguins. Since
several species of South American penguins produce the same sound, the local
birds have been renamed African Penguins, as they are the only example of the
species that breed in Africa.
- Their diet consists
mainly of squid and shoal fish such as pilchards and anchovy.
- They can swim at an
average speed of 7 km/hr, and can stay submerged for up to 2 minutes.
- Their enemies in the
ocean include sharks, Cape fur seals and, on occasion, killer whales (Orca).
Land-based enemies include mongoose, genet, domestic cats and dogs - and the kelp
gulls which steal their eggs and new born chicks.
- Their distinctive black
and white colouring is a vital form of camouflage- white for underwater
predators looking upwards and black for predators looking down onto the water.
- Peak-moulting time is
during December, after which they head out to sea to feed (since they do not
feed during moulting). They return in January to mate and begin nesting about
February to August.
References
- BirdLife International (2005). Spheniscus
demersus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006.
Retrieved on 05 Feb 2007. Database entry includes justification for why
this species is endangered