Ahoy
there sailors!
40 km’s to the East of Hermanus and just off the coast of Gansbaai is Dyer Island, one of the Island homes/ colonies of the African Penguins (Also known as the Jackass Penguin).
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| Underwater African Penguin by Scott Hanko |
40 km’s West of Hermanus in the sleepy hollow
of Betty’s Bay lies Stony Point, one of only three main land colonies of the
African Penguin (Spheniscus Demersus).
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| African Penguins at Stony Point |
What a truly unique bird. Not only
is it Africa’s only species of penguin, it is also the only one that lives in
non-freezing environment.
What makes the African Penguin
also unique is that it has pink glands above their eyes. These little pink
glands help them cope with the heat, the hotter it is, the more the blood rush
to these glands making it quicker and causing the blood to cool.
Their little markings of black
that they have on their white chest are as unique as human fingerprints.
Another interesting fact about
the penguins is they have more feathers than any other bird. Our little African
Penguins grow to about 40 cm tall and can way up to 4 kg. They reach sexual
maturity between two to four years old and a breeding pair will breed for life
for a period of about 10 years. they return to their same nests and mom and dad
will share the responsibility of incubation.
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| African Penguins mate for life |
They can reach speeds of 20 km/h
under water and they can dive to 100 m deep. These penguins can swim to about
110 km distance from the nest to hunt before returning home to feed the young.
The African Penguin feeds on
Anchovies, pilchards, sardines, herrings, mackerel as well as Shellfish and Squid.
Their biggest predators are Sharks
and Cape Fur Seals and their eggs and chicks are eaten by Cape Gulls, Scared
Ibises, Mongoose, snakes and even leopards.
What makes the trip to Hermanus
unique is that you can see the rare sight of Island as well as land colonies in
one day. This is unique.
Unfortunately our little African
Penguins are extremely endangered. The biggest threat to the African Penguin is that
it has no where to nest. As it lives in a non freezing environment it cannot
burrow into snow. The African Penguin used to burrow into Guano (bird poop)
however as all Guano was scraped off the rocks in the last century as it was
used for fertilizer, the African Penguin could only burrow into soft ground and
that is a scarcity in the Western Cape Coast as they are mainly made out of
hard sandstone rock.
Thanks to the wonderful
efforts made by the Overstrand
Municipality at Stony Point and the Dyer Island Conservation Trust at Dyer
Island, projects have been launched to build these penguins little shelters for
breeding couples. If you wish to help and sponsor a home or get more details
you can go to the following sites: www.dict.org.za;
www.overstrand.gov.za. It is worthwhile noting that by choosing to go on the whale watching boat from DyerIsland Cruises, a portion of your fee goes to the preservation of the African
Penguin at Dyer Island.
Also check out Two Oceans Aquarium
who actively draw awareness to the plight of the African Penguins and their
annual Penguin Waddle from Gansbaai to Stony Point and eventually Boulders is a
highlight in the Windsor calendar.
No trip to Hermanus or the Cape
Whale Coast is complete without seeing our little feathery friends.
Wish you all plain sailing
until we meet again next week, same place, same time.
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| Penguin houses built by Dyer Island Conservation Trust |
