Dear MEL Topic Readers,
The fight to save the African penguin
The African penguin is a penguin species that lives in southern African
waters. It has distinctive pink patches of skin above the eyes and a black
facial mask. They feed mainly on fish like sardines and anchovies as well as squid.
The once-numerous population of the African penguin has been rapidly decreasing
and now the species is endangered. The estimated number of breeding pairs is less
than 9,000 in South Africa and is declining by around 8% each year. So it won’t
be too long before the African penguin goes extinct. The causes of the population
decline are natural predators like seals, extreme storms and flooding caused by
climate change, and commercial fishing, most of which are caused by human activities.
Now, conservationists are demanding the South African government take immediate
actions that are biologically meaningful, including tougher restrictions on
fishing practices to protect penguins’ colonies. Since penguins are so
vulnerable to other animals and environmental changes, humans can decide and act either to save
or extinguish the species.
Read the article and learn about another endangered bird species that
only lives around the south of Africa.
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