The African Penguin population has undergone a staggering 80% decrease over the last 50 years. Today the birds number less than 60 000. Penguins face many threats, including oil spills and the depletion of food sources. Some scientists believe this endangered marine bird will be extinct in the wild within 15 years.
While many people are unaware of the plight of the African penguin, others have taken up the challenge of spreading the message. Dave Chamberlain is a diving instructor who decided to do something extraordinary – run the entire length of the African penguin’s natural range, a distance of about 2 700km, to raise funds and awareness. He kicked off his run in Walvis Bay in Namibia on October 17 and is hoping to be in Port Elizabeth by the end of January.
The Two Oceans Aquarium has championed the cause of the African penguin many times before, through our Waddle For A Week campaigns, as well as our conservation programme. So when Dave made his way through Cape Town, we invited him to come and meet some of our resident penguins and chat about his run, dubbed The Penguin Plod. Ana-Alicia Marais, penguin assistant at the Two Oceans Aquarium, and Samantha, our African penguin mascot, welcomed the visitors and showed them around the Sappi River Meander.
Alderman Belinda Walker, the City of Cape Town’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic, Environmental & Spatial Planning was also present during the visit, walking with Dave in solidarity for his cause and representing the city’s commitment to protecting this important marine species. Check out the video from their visit below:
The Two Oceans Aquarium supports the Penguin Promises campaign (as mentioned by Dave in the video above), aimed at getting people to commit to an action that will assist with saving the penguin and ultimately the planet. Find out more about the project here.
More information about Dave’s run can also be found on the BirdLife SA website.
If anyone can assist Dave with water/refreshments, or a place to stay for the night, or would like to run with him or organise an event around his run, look out for him in the following areas over the next few weeks (he’s the guy pushing a pram full of non-baby stuff)!
In/Around Gansbaai: 3 January
In/Around Bredasdorp: 6 January
In/Around Riversdale: 11 January
In/Around Albertina: 12 January
In/Around Mossel Bay: 14 January
In/Around Groot Brak: 15 January
In/Around Wilderness: 16 January
In/Around Sedgefield: 17 January
In/Around Knysna: 18 January
In/Around Plettenberg Bay: 20 January
In/Around Nature’s Valley: 21 January
In/Around Humansdorp: 26 January
In/Around Port Elizabeth: 29 January
Did you know?
- Currently, only about 60 000 African penguins are left in the wild.
- Between 1900 and 1930, about 13-million penguin eggs were collected for human consumption. This practice was only stopped in 1967.
- Penguins re-colonised Robben Island in 1983, after an absence of almost 180 years.
- The first penguins to call Boulder’s Beach “home” were spotted on the beach in 1985.
- During the 2000 Treasure oil spill, 18 516 oiled birds were rescued from Robben and Dassen Islands. There was a mortality rate of only 10.3% – a vast improvement on previous rescues. A total of 12 000 volunteers worked 556 000 hours during the rescue operation.
- Scientists believe that the endangered African penguin will be extinct in the wild within 15 years.
Stay in touch: For daily Aquarium updates, follow us on Twitter (@2OceansAquarium) and become a fan on Facebook.
