Meeting the African Penguins

A Drive to the Boulder’s Beach

The adorable flightless little birds that can beguile any human that set eyes on it. Little did I know that this part of the world will make me acquainted with yet another species of penguins: The African penguins.

Over the last three days, Cape Town has welcomed me with oodles of adventure spirit, keeping up with its reputation of being the Adventure Capital of the World. The Cheetah Outreach and the 2-day Adventure thrill package with Adventure-CapeTown boosted my adrenaline levels to its peak and I was more than ready to witness my next adventure. But as I learnt about the world famous African Penguins, I realised that as a result of commercial fishing they have rolled down to Endangered conservation status from Vulnerable. The entire schools of Anchovies and sardines drained by commercial fisheries in the waters of these penguin colonies to around 40km of distance, have had a major impact on their food cycle. It was upsetting, but the avidity of being able to see these birdies in a colony was mesmerising enough to get rid of that glum, at least for the time being.

Falling in Love with African Penguins

And finally… 

The TIME is here. 

There is an entry ticket of a few rands, 

But it’s taken care by Semester at Sea. 

Walking on a wooden dock 

Stretching towards the Sea,

I ascended my pace. 

The excitement has taken over.

Uncapping the lens of my camera,

The cap bounced off the spaces between the two wooden bars

On the docked floor,

And fell on the sand underneath.

I looked down and then turned to the penguins.

They were everywhere.

On the Boulders each side,

Strolling in the grass around.

Waddling their body from left to right,

And right to left, they moved.

Hundreds of ‘em 

Tiny little creatures.

I wonder if they were more before. 

Thousands, maybe? 

Or even more…

As per BusinessInsider May2019 Issue “Since the turn of the 20th Century, we’ve lost 99% of the African penguin population.” Scientists predict they could be functionally extinct by 2035.

The recent initiatives by the scientists for their conservation are but a relief to me. But none will be enough if the efforts aren’t combined. Habitat destruction has been a major cause for the loss of their lives, which is a direct result of industrial fishing. 

I’ve always believed that the natural disasters that occur because of the want of human, are the most difficult to solve. For a human takes what he wants. And here seafood being the sole reason of fisheries, is having catastrophic effect on sea ecology. 

#SayNoToCommercialFishing

After such close interaction with these penguins, I instantly fell in love with them. And it’s a known fact that humans want to protect the things they love. 

Support me in saving these cuties:

Create awareness by making this post viral and spreading love for African Penguins <3

#SaveAfricanPenguins

Click here to read about How Scientists are trying to bribe South African penguins with sexy decoys…