Update

MOSSEL BAY NEWS -  Fletcher and Pamela, the two endangered African penguin chicks that hatched from parents Domi and Diski earlier in July, are said to be doing well and have grown quite a bit in the last few weeks.

While Fletcher hatched at the Seabird and Penguin Rehabilitation Centre (Saprec), which has been home to his parents since 2011, Pamela hatched at the Hartenbos Animal Hospital two days later.

The hospital and Saprec’s founder, Carol Walton, previously told Mossel Bay Advertiser that Pamela is to be hand-reared by the hospital, as it is unlikely that the parents would have been able to raise both chicks into adulthood.

Walton said the survival of African penguins is of the utmost importance as they are critically endangered.
According to BirdLife South Africa, at their current rate of population decrease, conservationists estimate that the African penguin will be extinct in 2035 - just nine years from now.

Walton said Fletcher has grown tremendously, going from being able to fit in the palm of her hand to now filling a lunchbox. His parents are extremely protective of him, and the family of three spends most of their time in their shelter at Saprec.

She joked that she needed full body armour to remove the family and clean the cage, lest she suffer the wrath of an angry Domi and Diski.

Saprec volunteer Renay Potgieter visited Pamela at the hospital on Tuesday 28 July and said she had also grown, now weighing 835 grams.

If you would like to donate or support Saprec, an NPO that covers over 200km of the Garden Route coastline, or to report a seabird or penguin in distress, call Walton on 082 364 3382. 

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