https://en.sputniknews.africa/20241201/african-penguin-species-face-total-extinction-in-less-than-12-years-says-ecologist-1069497409.html
African Penguin Species Face Total Extinction in Less Than 12 Years, Says Ecologist
African Penguin Species Face Total Extinction in Less Than 12 Years, Says Ecologist
Sputnik Africa
African penguins, which live in South Africa and Namibia, are much smaller than their Antarctic counterparts. An adult bird weighs 2.2-3.5 kg and is up to 70... 01.12.2024, Sputnik Africa
2024-12-01T13:47+0100
2024-12-01T13:47+0100
2024-12-01T13:47+0100
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The number of reproductive pairs of African penguins has fallen below 10 thousand, which threatens total extinction of the species in less than 12 years, according to Kurt Martin, a representative of the non-governmental environmental organization BirdLife South Africa.Last month, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which compiles and publishes the Red List of threatened species, placed the African penguin in the "critically endangered" category as the first of 18 species of these flightless seabirds to be placed in this category. The population of these penguins has declined by 97% in the last hundred years.The main reason for the rapid extinction of African penguins was industrial fishing off the coast of South Africa and Namibia. To date, commercial fishing off the coast of South Africa has been banned in areas surrounding six African penguin colonies that represent 76% of the world's population of this species.But studies show that these zones do not adequately protect the penguins' main feeding areas, forcing them to compete for food with commercial fishing. Experts are pushing to expand these no-fishing zones.
https://en.sputniknews.africa/20230804/south-africa-enacts-fishing-ban-to-protect-endangered-penguins-1061073192.html
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africa, south africa, namibia, southern africa, animals' protection, animals, environment
African Penguin Species Face Total Extinction in Less Than 12 Years, Says Ecologist
Muhammad Nooh Osman
Writer/Editor
African penguins, which live in South Africa and Namibia, are much smaller than their Antarctic counterparts. An adult bird weighs 2.2-3.5 kg and is up to 70 cm tall. The penguin can swim up to 120 kilometers in search of food. Penguins feed mainly on anchovies, sardines and herring. The average lifespan of the African penguin is 10 years.
The number of reproductive pairs of African penguins has fallen below 10 thousand, which threatens total
extinction of the species in less than 12 years, according to Kurt Martin, a representative of the non-governmental environmental organization BirdLife South Africa.
"The African penguin, which is endemic to the southern and southwestern African continent, is in great danger," Martin told Russian media. "The number of breeding pairs is now less than 10,000. It is estimated that African penguins will be completely extinct by 2036."
Last month, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which compiles and publishes the Red List of threatened species, placed the African penguin in the "critically endangered" category as the first of 18 species of these flightless seabirds to be placed in this category. The population of these penguins has declined by 97% in the last hundred years.
The main reason for the rapid extinction of African penguins was industrial fishing off the coast of South Africa and Namibia. To date,
commercial fishing off the coast of South Africa has been banned in areas surrounding six African penguin colonies that represent 76% of the world's population of this species.
But studies show that these zones do not adequately protect the penguins' main feeding areas, forcing them to compete for food with commercial fishing. Experts are pushing to expand these no-fishing zones.
"The penguins simply don't have enough food to survive […] the global community should step up to prevent the extinction of this penguin species," Martin said, noting that BirdLife South Africa launched a legal action against the South African government last spring in an effort to reduce commercial fishing in penguin feeding areas.
