May 20

A day at Boulders Beach: Home of Africa’s Famous Penguin Colony

May 20, 2016

What do you call a penguin in Africa?
Lost!

That may be funny (if you’re a dad), but it’s not true. Penguins are, in fact, found on the south-western coast of Africa. There are colonies on 24 islands between Namibia and South Africa’s South Coast. These endangered penguins were formerly known as jackass penguins because they make a braying noise like a donkey, but are now called the African penguin.

Boulders Beach near Cape Town is their most famous colony and is one of the only places in the world where one can actually swim among penguins as they tend to explore the surrounding beaches.

The Penguins of South Africa
Image credit: Yīyuán Mǎ

A short history of Boulders

1984: A pair of penguins made a nest
1985: Two pairs nested at boulders, and bred successfully
1990: More than 50 nests were found at the colony
1997: The colony had grown to 700 breeding pairs
2002: The colony had an adult population of about 3500 penguins, with about 1100 breeding pairs

Their numbers are now diminishing as they need to travel further to find food, which means it’s a riskier endeavour. Sharks and occasionally orcas eat them, but primarily it is the seals that are their biggest predator. Land-based enemies include mongoose, genet, domestic cats and dogs – and the kelp gulls which steal their eggs and newborn chicks.Two Penguins on the shoreWatching them bask in the midday sun, they look like a garden of statues. Very well-dressed statues. Some have the look of a man who has stepped into the sun after a long nap and takes a moment to pause, with closed eyes, and indulge in the sun’s warm glow. Except the penguins do it for much longer than just a moment. It looks like they do it all day. Penguin in the foliageMost stand still with their wings almost touching the floor. Quiet and seemingly content, they occasionally scratch their sides with their beaks, a few ruffle their feathers and wiggle their bodies from top to bottom like a tiny Mexican wave that ends with a flapping tale.A group of penguins on the bouldersA salty fact: Salt glands adjacent to the skull enable penguins to avoid the buildup of excess salt obtained through feeding on fish and drinking salt water. Salt is expelled through the nostrils and they get rid of the salt content by flicking their beaks.

An African penguin swimming
Image credit: Commquarium

Like a fish in water: African Penguins might be ungainly and awkward on land, but they are superbly designed for life at sea with an ability to swim at speeds of up to 20km/hr when chasing fish.Baby Penguins at their nestsA penguin daycare centre: Newborn chicks are covered in down, which is not waterproof. From the age of about 30 days, both parents go to sea. Youngsters that are left alone often congregate in creches, mainly for protection.

African penguins mate for life
Image credit: Paul Mannix

Partners for life: African Penguins generally only start breeding at about four years of age. The main breeding season starts in February. They are a monogamous species and the lifelong partners take turns to incubate their eggs and to feed their young.


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About the author 

Matthew Sterne

Matt discovered a passion for writing in the six years he spent travelling abroad. He worked for a turtle sanctuary in Nicaragua, in an ice cream factory in Norway and on a camel safari in India. He was a door-to-door lightbulb-exchanger in Australia, a pub crawl guide in Amsterdam and a journalist in Colombia. Now, he writes and travels with us.

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