After months of hard work, SANCCOB is celebrating the release of 342 rehabilitated and hand-reared seabirds, of which 86% were African penguins, into the wild. This is the first release of penguins at De Hoop Nature Reserve for 2023 and is a collaboration between SANCCOB, BirdLife South Africa and CapeNature to re-establish a new colony of African penguins.
SANCCOB, BirdLife South Africa and CapeNature have worked together to prepare for the release of these seabirds. After the quarantine was lifted at SANCCOB, the centre received negative results for Avian Influenza and the team of staff, interns and volunteers worked hard to nurse the birds back to health. Thanks to the generous contributions of local and global funders, SANCCOB was able to overcome the challenges presented and release the birds back into the wild.
Of the 294 African penguins released, 36 were released at De Hoop Nature Reserve. The birds were fitted with identification tags and a tracking system was implemented to monitor their progress in their new environment. The release of these birds marks a significant step in SANCCOB’s efforts to bolster the population of African penguins in the wild.
The team at SANCCOB is proud of the work they have done to rehabilitate and release these birds. The release marks a successful end to a challenging endeavour and is a cause for celebration. The team hopes that the new colony of African penguins will thrive and become a part of a self-sustaining population.