IMAGE DIARIES COLLECTION/ALAMYNot Just
Happy Feet
The African penguin is fighting a battle of survival
against man-made and climate troubles. Joanna Lobo
meets the endangered bird on Cape Town’s beaches.SHE SHUFFLES TOWARDS ME on the boardwalk and
stops a few feet away. I am clearly in her way.
As I move aside, she rushes past, ducks under
the railing, and reaches for her partner. It’s a
happy reunion.
I am at Boulders Beach, near Capetown,
South Africa, to see African penguins. These
small, seemingly tuxedoed birds are at once,
adorable and entertaining. They are also on
the brink of extinction. Multiple factors are
responsible for their dwindling numbers—
habitat destruction, loss of nesting sites, marine
pollution, predator attacks, and a scarcity of food
owing to overfishing. In 1990, there were about
five to 10 lakh pairs of African penguins; in 2000,
around 50,000 pairs existed; and today, just
about 18,000 live in South Africa. In 2010, these
penguins were oicially stamped ‘Endangered’
in the International Union for Conservation ofThe dwindling
number of African
penguins has
drawn the attention
of conservationists
worldwide.CONSERVATION TRAVEL