Facts about the African Penguin

 African penguins, Boulders Beach, South Africa- by
Author Paul Mannix
Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

African penguins (Spheniscus demersus) are sometimes called Blackfoot penguins or because of the braying noise they make during the courtship of a mate they are sometimes called Jackass Penguins. They are not as well studied as other penguin species and information on their habits and breeding can be in complete.

They live and breed on islands off the southwest African coast bathed in the cold, nutrient rich, stream of the Benguela current. African penguins are the only species of penguin that breeds and lives in Africa in the wild and found nowhere else. They are one of the group of Banded penguins (Spheniscus) along with Galapagos, Humboldt, and Magellanic penguins with an estimated population of 180,000.

Description

Africans have white fronts and black backs. They have a black chin with a patch on their face that separates it from the crown of their head by a white band. A narrow black stripe runs across their white breast and down their flanks and down to its legs.

Some Africans, but not all, have a double bar on the chest and throat similar to a Magellanic penguin. Male Africans have heavier beaks and tend to be greater in size than females. They are very similar and the differences tend only to be noticed when they are standing near each other.

Adolescents, unlike adults, are bluish grey and the white face markings and black stripe around the front is absent. Juveniles differ from adults by being entirely blue-grey above, and lacking the white face markings and black breast band of the adults. Their bodies are streamlined and their short wings act as flippers propelling them through the water at up to 20 mile per hour. Africans stand at about 18 inches tall and weighing about 7.5 pounds they are not as big as Emperor, King or Yellow-eyed penguins but greater than Little Blues.

Hunting and Diet

African penguins have been seen at sea as far as 60 miles from land. Usually they hunt near rocky coasts for fish such as pilchards or anchovies or for crustaceans such as krill and will eat up to one pound of food daily.

As with other species of penguins Africans often take to the water in a group and have a tendency to hesitate before jumping into the sea. Usually one will take the plunge first and the others will follow en masse possibly to distract, or confuse any waiting predators.

Breeding

In September and February they form breeding colonies, or ‘rookeries’ where they will build nests. These are often shallow burrows in sand, bare ground or under rocks, sparse vegetation, or even guano. There needs to be sufficient cover to protect eggs and adults from the heat of the African climate. The female lays two green eggs which need incubating for about five weeks and both parents share this duty. They will also share the care of the chicks when they hatch in about 5 five weeks time.

Predators and Threats

On land the chicks and eggs may fall victim to Kelp gulls, skuas and Ibis. In the sea they are preyed upon by sharks and Fur seals. Scientists are concerned that their population is fast declining. In the past they have suffered from oils spills, loss of habitat and human activity such as overfishing. They increasingly have to compete with seals for dwindling stocks of food and diminishing breeding grounds. African penguins are listed as ‘Vulnerable‘ (A2ace+3ce+4ace ver. 3.1 (2008)) on the IUCN Red List.

References, Attributions and Further Reading

This article was orginally published on Helium.com on October 10, 2009 and  updated October 10, 2009 by zteve t evans.  In November 2013 Helium.com became Critters 360 and a version remains on there.

Image - File:A pair of African penguins, Boulders Beach, South Africa.jpg - From Wikimedia Commons - African penguins, Boulders Beach, South Africa- by AuthorPaul Mannix Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

The International Penguin Conservation Working Group

MarineBio Conservation Society

African Penguin from Wikipedia