African Wildlife & Environment Issue 82

WESSA LEADERSHIP FWF NE SLETT R 3 (2022)

The FWF has extended its support for the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) in Gqeberha by contributing R50 000 towards its latest African Penguin rescue and rehabilitation efforts. In March 2022 severe weather systems across Algoa Bay resulted in penguins abandoning their nests, many which were either destroyed or under water, and their chicks would have died if not for the emergency rescue efforts to retrieve them by SANCCOB. This large admission of more than 100 chicks incurred significant additional expenses for SANCCOB to feed, medicate and rehabilitate them to the point where they can be returned to their colony. It costs around R8 400 per day to care for and feed the 105 chicks currently at their centre. Algoa Bay is a marine biodiversity hotspot, and its seabird breeding islands fall within the declared Addo Marine Protected Area (MPA). The St Croix and Bird Islands together account for more than 45 percent of the total African Penguin population in South Africa and are of crucial importance to the survival of this iconic and endangered species. Bird Island is also home to the world’s largest colony of Cape Gannets. “We contributed R50 000 to SANCCOB’s Save the African Penguin project in October last year, and are making a further R50 000 contribution this year to support the organisation’s latest rescue and rehabilitation project,” says Lynda du Plessis, Manager of the Ford Wildlife Foundation. “The population is already impacted by a shortage of their traditional fish stocks, as well as oil spillages and noise pollution from the busy shipping lanes in the bay. “The contribution to the rescue project bolsters our support for SANCCOB Gqeberha, along with the loan Ford Ranger Double Cab 4x4 which enables the team to rescue and transport penguins and seabirds across the Eastern Cape. We also provide a loan Ford Ranger to the SANCCOB centre in Cape Town,” du Plessis adds. FordWildlife Foundation Contributes to SANCCOB Penguin Rescue Project

The Gqeberha Centre is based in the 366 hectare Cape Recife Nature Reserve on Marine Drive near Summerstrand. The facility is open to the public, and provides educational tours and popular daily feeds for the penguins. Along with a new rehabilitation pool, the facility is equipped with a seabird hospital with a surgical theatre and intensive care unit (ICU).

For more information on this project, visit www. sanccob.co.za/save-the-african-penguin/.

9 | African Wildlife & Environment | Issue 82 (2022)