New Nest Boxes for African Penguins

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Nest Boxes for African Penguins--You Can Help
By Christina Taylor

African penguin chicks at Boulders Beach in Simon's Town on the Cape Peninsula will be getting new nest boxes to protect them from predators, thanks to a programme that will allow public sponsorship of the one-family fibreglass homes.

For R200, individuals may "adopt" a nest box, big enough for one adult and two chicks, that will be monitored as penguin couples settle in to breed.

Table Mountain National Park section ranger Monique Ruthenberg said the enclosed boxes would mimic the natural nest shape and protect growing chicks from elements and predators such as kelp gulls and mongoose.

The project has been launched by iKapa Honorary Rangers in support of the park's efforts to revive the colony, whose numbers have declined sharply with those of the wider penguin population.


The Boulders colony shrank from around 3 900 to close to 2 600 penguins between 2005 and last year, Ruthenberg said. The population of the endangered African penguin has declined "dramatically" in recent years, to around 120 000 birds.

"(In) some areas (numbers) have gone down by as much as 50 percent," Ruthenberg said.

Although the decline is thought to be linked to food chain problems, Ruthenberg said it was important to include solutions on land in the effort to save the bird from extinction.

Park staff were also trying to cut speeding, which had led to a number of penguin deaths on roads.

Sue Smith, chair of iKapa, said 20 boxes had been "sold".

Sponsors would receive a "Friends of SANParks" certificate, and their names would be included on a map of nest boxes, to be displayed at Boulders Penguin Colony.

# Phone Johan Noeth on 083 299 8474 or e-mail johan.noeth @gmail.com or hgibson@ telkomsa.net to sponsor a box.

Story by: christina.taylor@inl.co.za
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