African Penguins

The African penguin is a species of penguin that can only be found in southern African waters. It has been called the "jackass" penguin because of its donkey like bray. This penguin can be I.D.by its distinctive pink patches of skin above the eyes and black facial mask. The upper parts of the African penguin is black and its underparts are white. The African penguin is a pursuit diver and feeds primarily on fish and squid. At one time there were a great amount of this species of penguins but today it is on the endangered list.

There are a few reasons the African Penguin is declining in number. The mid-20th century saw penguin eggs being considered a delicacy food and were collected by poachers to sell. The egg would be smashed so that only fresh ones would be sold. Oil spills also endangered the penguins. Shipwrecks and cleaning of tankers while at sea made African penguins susceptible to pollution of their habitat. Competition among commercial fisheries of sardines and anchovy have forced the penguins to search for other prey off shore. Recent studies of closing known areas of African penguins to fisheries for periods of time showed great benefits to penguins No matter the reason of declining numbers I pray that the African Penguin never goes extinct. Their beauty can never be replaced.



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