MOSSEL BAY NEWS - There are two young new additions to the group of African penguins in the care of the Seabird and Penguin Rehabilitation Centre (Saprec) in Mossdustria.
Saprec’s founder, Carol Walton, said she is doing everything in her power to fight for the well-being of these critically endangered penguins, and to get to that stage after the next five months or so when she can release the two new hatchlings into the wild, when they are big and strong enough.
Walton told Mossel Bay Advertiser the first chick to hatch, on 19 June, came from Saprec resident penguins Dommi and Discy. The second came from proud penguin parents Happy Feet and Ballot last Friday, 25 July.
Walton said the four parents cannot be rewilded due to old injuries that render them vulnerable in the wild. On the happy side, however, the chicks do have a chance.
She said the process of introducing them into the wild will be a long and important one.
“We will keep them at Saprec for the next four or five months. They will then be sent to a rehabilitation centre to help the wilding process, and from there, they will be released to an island colony where they will follow the lead of the adult penguins and thrive,” she said.
Walton said these two younglings would add some variation to the African penguin gene pool.
She said the costs to rescue, look after and rehabilitate these critically endangered birds, as well as the other seabirds, was ever increasing. If you would like to support Saprec, or if you find a seabird in distress, call 082 364 3382.
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