DE HOOP ror penguins

For the past five years, BirdLife South Africa has been working to re-establish an African Penguin colony at De Hoop Nature Reserve.

- CHRISTINA HAGEN, PAMELA ISDELL

There are now signs of success.

African Penguin numbers have declined by more than 60 per cent over the past 30 years, mainly due to lack of food. In response, BirdLife South Africa partnered with CapeNature and SANCCOB to create a new breeding colony for the penguins in an area of higher fish abundance. The chosen site, at De Hoop Nature Reserve, was the location of a short-lived penguin colony in the early 2000s, which was abandoned due to predation by caracals. In 2018, a predator-proof fence was installed to make the site safe for penguins to breed. The first phase of the project involved the use of life-like penguin decoys and a speaker playing penguin calls to trick penguins into thinking a colony already existed there.