South Africa's penguins fight for survival

In October, the International Union for Conservation of Nature classified the African penguin as critically endangered. The flightless birds, seen here resting on the beach at the Boulders penguin colony near Cape Town, South Africa, were previously considered "only" endangered. Threatened by pollution and construction, they're also at risk of diseases like bird flu.

However, the biggest threat to the penguins is food shortages, said marine biologist Allison Kock. "So many of the penguins are starving and are not getting enough food to breed successfully," she told the AFP news agency. Commercial fishing is depriving the animals of food, but climate change is also playing a role, shifting ocean currents and redirecting fish shoals.

It's estimated there are fewer than 10,000 breeding pairs worldwide, down from 42,500 in 1991. Penguins often give up breeding if they can't find enough food, preferably sardines or anchovies. Researchers fear that by 2035, spectacled penguins, among them the African penguin, could therefore be completely extinct in the wild.

But animal welfare activists in South Africa are trying to help. They catch the animals to examine them for injuries and illnesses and, if necessary, help them before they are released back into the wild. In a special hospital for seabirds in Tableview near Cape Town, the little patients can even be X-rayed.

The South African government also has an interest in ensuring the survival of the penguins. Thousands of people come to watch the birds every year, like here in Simon's Town. South Africa earns several million US dollars a year from penguin tourism, an important economic sector. Since their inclusion on the Red List, the spectacled penguins have been even more in the spotlight.

However, this increased attention is a double-edged sword, as penguins are very sensitive. "The level of disturbance, people with selfie sticks, it's becoming more and more of a challenge," said Arne Purves, Cape Town's coastal protection officer. But there's at least been one success: from January, fishing will be banned in the vicinity of six South African penguin colonies, until at least 2035.

However, animal rights activists have criticized the fact that the planned exclusion zones are too small — and that something needs to change in the long term. "No matter how much we do, if there isn't a healthy environment for them, our work is in vain," said veterinarian David Roberts, who works at the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds hospital.