While they may be slow on land, African penguins can swim 12 mph and dive up to 400 feet when hunting for fish.
You might be surprised to learn that African penguins don’t live in cold climates. While all penguins live in the southern hemisphere, most penguins live in warm or temperate climates, not chilly Antarctica!
African penguins live in a very similar climate to Dallas, which made us a great location to test out the artificial nests.
Challenges in the Wild
Overfishing. When commercial fishermen take away food supplies near their habitats, penguins are forced to swim farther and farther to find food and feed their offspring. The long journeys for food make them easier targets for predators like seals.
Pollution. Plastic pollution in our oceans pose serious threats to African penguins, who end up mistaking plastic for food or consuming contaminated food sources.
Nesting habitat loss. Penguins naturally lay their eggs in nests made of guano (seabird droppings) that provides perfect insulation and predator protection. However, humans took the guano from the beaches for fertilizer, leaving the penguins without a safe place to raise their young.
Dallas Zoo Saving African Penguins
The Dallas Zoo supports these amazing conservation organizations:
African Penguin Nesting Project: The Dallas Zoo is leading the effort to save the last 1% of African penguins along with the Association of Zoos & Aquariums’ Saving Animals From Extinction (SAFE) program. Associate Curator Kevin Graham has designed an artificial nest to give penguins a safe place to nest and raise their chicks. He and other Dallas Zoo staff members travel to South Africa each year to install them along the coastline. Since January 2018, the team has installed almost 1,700 nests in six colonies across South Africa!
SANCCOB: The Dallas Zoo also supports the South African Federation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB), an organization that rescues, rehabilitates, and releases ill, injured, abandoned, and oiled African penguins and other sea birds. This gives African penguins impacted by pollution the chance to get back on their feet and thrive.
You Can Help Save African Penguins in the Wild
Buy a Dallas Zoo membership to help save African penguins in the wild.
Overfishing. When commercial fishermen take away food supplies near their habitats, penguins are forced to swim farther and farther to find food and feed their offspring. The long journeys for food make them easier targets for predators like seals.
