Jackass Penguin
Black-footed Penguin ~ African Penguin

  They once had a population of several million in the late 1800's, and still numbered over a million in the early 1900's!

   The Jackass Penguin in the last 60 years or so has dwindled
to few more than about 120,000 animals.
Yes... they are threatened!

   These endearing little creatures are quite comical in their black and white overcoats, moving about on land with an amusing waddle, and calling out greetings in a most absurd "hee-haw" type donkey bray. But as cute as they are, they have care requirements that exceed that of most pet keepers.

Dr. Jungle, "I love your strut,... but that donkey bray sure throws me into a tailspin!"

Jackass Penguins
standing together on a rock.
Photo: Kenneth Garrett
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Meet baby "Toga"
Dr. Jungle, "a baby penguin,...
and a sad story involving "dummies".

Photo issued by Hampshire Police

This little duffer was stolen from his parents
just a week before Christmas!

Read about Toga below:

Toga, a baby penguin, was snatched from his parents and home about a week before Christmas.
12/18/2005

   Just a baby about 3 months old, Toga lived with his parents Oscar and Kyala and four other adult Jackass Penguins. The adults became residents of Britain's Amazon World Zoo Park on the Isle of Wight in 2002. Toga was the first baby African (Jackass) Penguin to be successfully bred here.
   Toga was born in September 2005. The zoo keepers reportedly said that Toga was too young for them to determine gender, therefore they refer to the young penguin as a "he". Being a baby he is described as still having juvenile coloring of brown and white and his parents were still feeding him regurgitated food. Dependent on his parents care, he would not take food from people or feed on his own.
   From various news reports, it is said that there was no evidence of forced entry, rather it is thought that someone could have climbed over an outer fence into the zoo and then over another fence surrounding the penguin's enclosure to carry the baby penguin away.
   Zoo officials reportedly believe that Toga could probably only survive for about five days without his parents. That amount of time has come and gone, and nothing has been determined about the young penguin's fate.
   This is a very sad story about a beautiful animal. We can only hope for the best for little Toga until we hear more. Let this incident help us all to be more aware of the special needs of our animal friends and encourage people to act responsibly,...not as "Dummies".

Distribution:
  African Penguins or Jackass Penguins are found only off the coast of Southern Africa between Port Elizabeth and Namibia. They are one of 16 species of penguins but are the only nesting penguin in Africa. They nest in colonies, mainly on 24 offshore islands, though several colonies have also become established on the mainland. A colony on St. Croix Island near Port Elizabeth is one of the largest with about 50,000 penguins.

Social Behavior :
  The African (Jackass) Penguins are gregarious. As adults they live in fairly large groups of between 50 to 100 penguins, though while they are nurturing their young they are more secluded. Once the young penguins reach maturity they will join with a mate for life. They are excellent parents, forming a strong nurturing bond with their young.

Description:
   This is a rather small little bird being only about 24" - 28" (60 - 71 cm) tall and weighing between 6.3 - 8 pounds (2.84 - 3.6 kg). In the wild their average life span is about 20 years but they have been known to live up to 30 years in captivity.
   The streamlined body of the African (Jackass) Penguin is shaped rather like a bowling pin, stocky and quite robust. They have webbed feet, a wedge shaped tail, and small flippers on the sides.
   An adult is black on top, white with varied spotting underneath, and has a distinct black stripe running up the sides and across the chest in a horseshoe shape. Over their eyes is whitish bare skin that will turn bright reddish pink when they are getting hot. Males are a bit larger and have a longer bill than the females. Juveniles differ in coloring, starting out with a slate blue color on top that soon turns brown and then gradually turns black. They mature at about 3 to 4 years of age.
   Their feathers are very thick, short, and shiny. The feathers are waterproof and keep their skin dry. Rather than having a layer of blubber like seals and whales, African penguins have a layer of trapped air under the feathers to protect them from the cold. They molt once a year for about a three week period, loosing their existing feathers and replacing them with new ones. They cannot swim during this time and they also do not eat while molting.

Swimming:
   Though they are flightless birds, the African (Jackass) Penguins are incredibly agile in the water. Using their webbed feet to steer they can swim quite fast, averaging about 4.3 miles (7 km) per hour and when needed they can produce short fast bursts of speed reaching about 15 miles (24 km) per hour. When diving they can go deeper than any other bird and they can hold their breath for up to about 20 minutes.

Feeding:
    African Penguins or Jackass Penguins are carnivores and they hunt for their food in the ocean. Their diet once consisted mainly of oil rich pilchards, but today it includes many other fish that are more readily available. They eat a variety of fish including sardines, anchovy, sancord (an eel like fish), and maasbanker (African sad); along with squid and crustaceans.

Breeding:
   The African (Jackass) Penguins naturally like to nest by burrowing deep into layers of hardened quano (bird droppings) along the rocky shores, but the guano was heavily harvested in the 19th century for fertilizer. Today they nest by burrowing into sand or under overhanging rocks or bushes, and sometimes out in the open.
   The female will lay two eggs, which will incubate for 38 - 42 days. Once the young are hatched both parents assist in guarding the nest and caring for the young. They take turns hunting and feeding them with regurgitated fish for approximately eight weeks. After this time the young must learn to fend for themselves. They reach maturity at three to four years of age.

The African Penguin population has declined approximately 90% in the last 60 years!
   Once numbering several million, the African (Jackass) Penguin were heavily harvested by sailors and settlers in the late 1800's. By the early 1900's they numbered only about 1.2 million.

Today their total number is only
about 120,000 penguins!

Several factors contributed to the decline of the African (Jackass) Penguin.
   During the nineteenth century there was large scale removal of the nutrient rich guano, a hardish bird dropping substance which the penguins burrowed into for nesting. This has caused ongoing problems of inadequate nest burrowing sites. Those that remain are subject to heat and flooding by rain, and competition for sites with larger seals. Penguin nesting sites and colonies on the mainland are vulnerable to mainland predators not encountered on the islands.

Currently the biggest threats are:

1. Oil spills: Oil spills over the last 30 years have taken a large toll on the African (Jackass) Penguin and continue to be a potential risk. Two oils spills, one in 1994 and another in 2000, killed 30,000 penguins. When the penguin's feathers become covered with oil, the air trapped beneath them is damaged and ineffective, no longer protecting them from the cold.
2. Food shortages: Diminished food supplies is thought to be due to commercial fishing, especially of anchovies and pilchard, along with changes in environmental conditions.
3. Human interference: Human disruptions include egg removal, colony disturbance, and the close proximity of shipping ports to nesting colonies.
4. Increased natural competition and predation: This includes disruption by the Cape Fur Seal Arctocephalus pusillus for nesting sites and food (as well as being attacked and eaten), and predation on eggs and chicks by the Kelp Gull Larus dominicanus, Straw-necked Ibis Threskiornis spinicollis, and feral cats on the mainland.

Southern African National Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB)
   Formed 20 years ago to help rescue penguins from oil spills and other disasters, SANCCOB has rehabilitated the African (Jackass) Penguin with great success. It is estimated that their population is 19% larger than it would be without these efforts.
   SANCCOB rescues and rehabilitates many injured seabirds. It is funded solely by membership fees and public donations. More than 80% of birds admitted for rehabilitation are returned successfully to the wild. This is the most successful sea bird rehabilitation center in the world.

Dr. Jungle, "How we interact with animals and our choices are the keys to a future where our world is healthy and rich with all types of wildlife."

Ways in which you can help:

1. Support SANCCOB as a volunteer. This involves cleaning and feeding rescued penguins and other seabirds.
2. Take oiled or injured penguins or seabirds to SANCCOB.
3. Financially support SANCCOB.
4. There are several other wildlife organizations listed on the SANCCOB site that also invite volunteers.

  The African (Jackass) Penguin colonies at Boulders Beach and Robben Island are very popular tourist attractions!

Conservation efforts that have been put into effect:

1. Fences have been erected around some breeding grounds to help prevent human disturbance and attacks by predators.
2. Steps have been taken to secure penguin breeding sites from seals as well as efforts to eliminate feral cat populations.
3. Islands that support nesting colonies are protected as provincial nature reserves or fall within the West Coast National Park. Collection of guano and eggs is no longer allowed within penguin colonies.

Classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List 2004.

Listed on Appendix II of CITES, and Appendix II of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS or Bonn Convention), because it is undergoing an observed rapid population decline.

Proposed conservation measures:

1. Monitor population trends at all colonies.
2. Research the impact of fishing and predation.
3. Develop plans to conserve pelagic fish resources.
4. Prevent oil spills from illegal cleaning of ship tanks.
5. Eliminate feral cats and prevent introduction of rats to any colonies.
6. Investigate reintroduction techniques
7. Continue and maintain the SANCCOB oil spill rehabilitation center.