Penguins

Of the 18 penguin species, none can fly, but their stiff flippers, webbed feet, and sleek shapes make them excellent swimmers. Some species can reach speeds of 24 kilometres per hour! Penguins’ tightly packed, oily feathers are the perfect waterproof solution for swimming. They undergo an annual moult after the breeding season, during which all their feathers are replaced with new ones. On land, penguins stand upright and tend to waddle, hop, or run with their bodies sloping forward. Polar penguins can travel long distances by “tobogganing” or sliding across the ice on their bellies. Penguins are fiercely loyal and commonly have one partner for life – they even have special contact calls for their partners and chicks.

Penguins live in a variety of habitats. Arguably the most well-known are emperor penguins, which are found on the icy slopes of Antarctica, huddling together in the thousands to conserve warmth. African penguins live off the coasts of South Africa and Namibia. South Africa is home to two land-based colonies: One on Boulders Beach near Simonstown and the other on Stony Point near Betty’s Bay. Northern rockhopper penguins inhabit rocky, inaccessible islands in the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans. They are renowned for their incredible jumping ability. All penguin species are carnivores, feeding on fishes, squid, crabs, krill, and other seafood.

Most penguin species practice similar parental care. Many penguin couples lay two eggs, of which only one typically hatches. All penguin parents take turns incubating the eggs. After hatching, penguins regurgitate foraged food into their chicks’ mouths, allowing them to double in weight within a week. In most penguin species, the males protect their chicks while the females forage for food. Other species alternate the duties of foraging and protection. Penguin chicks often huddle together in “crèches” while parents are foraging. From about two to three months old, the chicks’ downy feathers are replaced with juvenile plumage. At this point, the chicks are ready to fledge and are left to fend for themselves. Once attaining adult plumage, penguins can breed, although they usually wait until they reach the age of four.

Rockhopper penguins live on islands thousands of kilometres south of South Africa. However, they are often found stranded on our coastline. The best explanation is that the penguins were kept on board large fishing vessels as pets, food, or to sell on dry land. Having these birds in your possession is illegal in South African waters. Worried about being fined, some fishers toss the birds overboard. Passers-by find the stranded birds and take them to SANCCOB. Once the penguins have been rehabilitated and nursed to health, they are integrated into the existing rockhopper penguin colony here at the Two Oceans Aquarium, where they will have a permanent home.

Our African penguin colony is now in its third generation at the Aquarium, meaning all of these birds were hatched and raised in our care. Because they have never lived in the wild, they lack important survival behaviours such as catching their own food, and their immune systems differ from those of wild penguins. For this reason, and because South African law prohibits the release of captive-bred penguins, these birds cannot be returned to the wild. Some of our rockhopper penguins were rescued after stranding along the South African coast. Wild rockhopper colonies occur in different regions, each with its own unique genetics and microbiology. During their time in local waters, these birds may have been exposed to parasites or diseases not present in their original colonies, meaning releasing them could pose a risk to wild populations.