At almost seven weeks old now, Storm, weighing in at a mere 80g at birth, has grown into a healthy 2kg during a check-up done on Friday, 20 July.
Although the aim of SAPREC is rehabilitation and releasing seabirds back into the wild, Storm's parents, Happy Feet and Pops, are both permanent residents, having respectively spent six and eight years at SAPREC. African Penguins choose a mate for life, hence Pops and Happy Feet will not be separated. According to Carol Walton from SAPREC, Storm will eventually be released to live life to the fullest amongst others of its kind.
Dr Frans de Graaff, a local veterinary surgeon, who has been checking in on Storm since birth, has a long standing relationship with SAPREC, being involved since the centre opened its doors in 2005. When Carol arrived in Mossel Bay, people soon heard about her expertise in seabirds, and she soon found herself turning her garage at home into a make shift rehabilitation centre. It was due to the goodwill of Dr de Graaff that Carol eventually had the opportunity to set up SAPREC in Mossdustria, being offered to use a vacant premises.
Another key figure is Piet Oktober, who has been with SAPREC since 2006 and is the only person drawing a meagre salary. For Carol, this is purely a labour of love, but SAPREC remains under constant financial pressure. Running costs are often very high, particularly when seabirds are affected by oil spill, like some of the penguins that came in during the previous week and had to be treated. These birds had to be cleaned with specialised chemicals in order to survive such an ordeal and to eventually be released successfully.
The African Penguin is an endangered species, with their numbers having dropped 50% in the past five years. If drastic measures are not implemented, the African Penguin could be extinct within the next decade.
SAPREC is currently running a penguin awareness campaign in conjunction with the St Blaize Conservancy. To date, they have visited both Milkwood and Park Primary School, where an entertaining yet insightful programme was presented by Penny Penguin, who taught learners about these iconic seabirds. The awareness programme will be resumed at various local schools during the third term.Oktober.
Local seabird celebrity Storm of SAPREC is growing up 'a storm', now weighing 2kg at almost seven weeks. Here he is with Dr Frans de Graaff, Carol Walton and Piet Oktober.
ARTICLE: CORNELLE CARSTENS, MOSSEL BAY ADVERTISER JOURNALIST
