Celebrate African Penguin Awareness Day In October

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In October we celebrate another endangered animal, the African penguin.

African Penguin Awareness Day aims to raise awareness of these birds and the threats to their survival.

The Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) started the day.

This organization works tirelessly to try to save all threatened shorebirds, not just the penguins. And they’ve done a good job with many of them. But the African penguin still needs a lot of help.

Most references we found to this day suggest the celebration is on October 13 every year. But SANCCOB appears to celebrate on a weekend in early October. The exact weekend is variable. It was October 11 (2nd Sat) In 2014. October 17 (3rd Sat) in 2015. It was on the 13th in 2012 (2nd Sat).

Since SANCCOB created the day, their date would seem to be the most accurate. But we’re not sure how they’re picking the date each year …

Then again, the exact date may not matter as much as simply getting the word out that the African penguin needs help to survive.

 

A Morsel of African Penguin Facts & Trivia

By some estimates, the African penguin could be extinct in under 20 years if we don’t do more to help them. And soon.

That would be sad for so many reasons. One of which is that the African penguin is the last penguin species left anywhere in Africa. There were once others, but they went extinct long, long ago.

People do love these little birds staking claim to the southern tip of Africa. They attract hundreds of thousands of tourists every year. Sadly just watching the birds can’t save them.

There are only around 40,000 of them left. That might sound like a lot, but it’s actually not enough to sustain their population. Scientists figure there needs to be about 50,000 breeding pairs to do that. Which means we currently have fewer than half the number of birds we need.

In the early 1900s there were around 2 million birds (1 million pairs).

Human activity—like collecting their eggs to eat; collecting their poop (guano) to use as fertilizer; and overfishing of their primary food source—has put them in a very delicate position.

Scroll down for some ideas on celebrating this unofficial holiday for the birds.

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Ideas for How to Celebrate African Penguin Awareness Day

Visit the penguins at your local zoo or aquarium. African penguins obviously preferred, but other species will do (many others are also in danger).

Conservation groups, zoos and other organizations often hold events for this day. See if there’s one near you. You might find:

• Walks (or waddles!). Possibly in black and white clothes.
• Educational programs.
• Entertainment programs.

 

If not, you can still celebrate these beautiful birds.

There are everyday things you can do to help protect the environment and avoid harming the penguins. Examples include:

• Eat only grain fed chicken. As opposed to chickens fed fish meal made from anchovies (the penguins’ primary diet).
• Volunteer for coastal cleanup projects.
• Use environmentally friendly cleaning products.

 

Find more ideas here.

You might also like be a part of SANCCOB’s Adopt a Penguin program. Or you can make a donation & designate how it should be used.

(Remember: Always check out any organization yourself before donating money. Make sure they’ll be using your donation in ways you approve of.)

If you’d like to learn more about the African penguin and the threats they face, start with this article from the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa newsletter: Raising awareness of the plight of the African penguin.

You might also like one of these books:

• African Penguin: A Natural History, by Phil Hockey
• Penguins: The Ultimate Guide, by Tui De Roy, et. Al.: This one actually covers all 18 penguin species.
• The Penguins, by Lloyd S. Davies: Also covers all the penguin species.

 

Watch the release of African Penguins for African Penguin Awareness Day 2014:

 

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