CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: TOBY ADAMSON/ALAMY; JOANNA LOBO (2)Nature’s Red List of Endangered Species.
With a loss of over 95 per cent individuals, the
species is now at its lowest recorded number.
This is why numerous people and organisations
are now fighting to save the African penguin
from extinction. And this is why, on an extremely
windy day, I find myself heading to Seaforth
Beach, 500 metres from Boulders, in Simon’s
Town, keen to learn about the lives of these
beautiful birds and the conservation efforts
being made to protect them.
URBAN AMBASSADOR
Simon’s Town was once just a small, historical
place on the eastern side of Cape Peninsula,
home to the South African navy and a rest stop
for those on their way to Cape Point. In 1983,
a pair of African penguins swam up to Foxy
Beach and decided to stay. They had abundant
food (anchovies and sardines) and safe nesting
sites—rapid urbanisation had reduced the
number of predators. It marked the beginning
of a new penguin colony on the west coast.
Jon Monsoon was nine when he saw this
pair and wrote a story about them, which later
got published. Over the years, the number of
penguins grew, and so did his fascination.
Monsoon became a conservation journalist,
and later a certified marine conservationist
and the director of Shark Warrior Adventures
(a responsible tourism initiative, which is part
of the non-profit organisation AfriOceans
Conservation Alliance; sharkwarrior.com). To this
day, he continues to tell the story of the African
penguins through walking tours of the area.
Monsoon’s walk begins on a small stretch of
Seaforth Beach. One end of it is cordoned off, and
it’s easy to guess why: sunning themselves on the
boulders are a few penguins. “There are a couple
of nesting areas here,” says Monsoon, pointing to
little caves in the boulders and the grassy patch
of land above it. Seaforth is where people can
watch the penguins for ‘free’. As a result, the
birds are often chased around and back into
the water, tiring them and keeping them from
feeding their chicks. The fence keeps beachgoers
out of penguin territory.
The walks Monsoon conducts are a way for
him to keep track of the birds under the care
of Shark Warrior Adventures. He carries a
clipboard with drawings of the penguins. Each
bird has a unique collection of spots on its chest,
like a fingerprint, that makes it easy to identify.
If a new individual is spotted, Monsoon draws
its spot pattern, the beak shape (to distinguish
between the male and female), and enters it into
Clockwise, from top:
Boulders Beach is the
only place in the world
where you can get
close to African
penguins; a chick is
tended to by a medical
expert at SANCCOB;
a newborn is fed by a
conservationist.the record books. And yes, they all
have names. There’s the ‘married’
couple of Susan and David who had a
baby earlier this year, and the grumpy
Matt, who glowers if we go too close.
As we walk, Monsoon points out a
few nesting sites emphasising on those that would
be easy prey for predators like seagulls and even
pet dogs. “Many residents here aren’t happy with
the penguins—they smell and make a lot of noise,
and they brought in too many tourists. When they
take their dogs for a walk, they leave them loose,
and the animals immediately sniff out the eggs
and destroy them. It’s a sad situation,” he says.
But the locals’ mindset is slowly changing.
Monsoon takes me beyond Boulders Beach,
towards a private residential area. Here,
residents have worked together to create a space
for the penguins to live, separated from their
homes by a boardwalk.PARKS AND RESERVES
Boulders Beach is a reserve, part of the Table
Mountain National Park. SANParks took over
its management in 1998, bringing in changes
that protected the penguins while satisfying
demands of the locals. A boardwalk was built for
penguin-viewing in 1999 all the way to BouldersCONSERVATION TRAVEL
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