Just three weeks ago, we turned the key on our brand-new Rescue and Retrieve Vehicle — and already it’s been a lifeline for some of our ocean’s most vulnerable. We owe an enormous thank you to André Breytenbach and the team at Cape Town City Toyota for putting this hero on wheels in our hands. Because of them, our coastline’s wild residents now stand a better chance when trouble finds them.
Our Western Cape coastline is one of the richest, most alive places on Earth. But it’s also fragile — tangled in fishing lines, polluted by oil spills and plastic, threatened by a changing ocean. That’s where our trusty 4×4 Hilux comes in. In just three weeks, our Dyer Island Conservation Trust and African Penguin & Seabird Sanctuary teams have driven nearly 2 000 km up and down this coast, answering calls for help — day or night.
Among those rescued was an African Penguin picked up from Struisbaai, covered in oil but full of fight. After intensive cleaning and care, this little survivor will soon waddle back to the waves. Another penguin, found on Die Plaat near De Kelders with a flipper wound — likely from a seal bite — is healing well and will be heading home too.
Of course, some stories don’t have the ending we wish for. We lost two critically endangered African Penguins — one from Hermanus, one from De Hoop Nature Reserve — both too weak and emaciated to pull through, despite every effort. Our sanctuary vet is doing careful post-mortems to learn all we can from these precious lives lost, so we can do better, sooner, next time.
A tiny swift tern chick came in starving and weak. We tried everything, but sometimes nature decides another path. On brighter wings, though, we collected a disoriented bank cormorant from Pearly Beach — today that bird is back on the wing, healthy and wild once more.
Every kilometer on that odometer tells a story — of a life saved, a lesson learned, or sometimes a quiet goodbye that fuels us to try harder. Our African Penguin & Seabird Sanctuary stands ready 24/7 because the ocean doesn’t wait for office hours — and thanks to this vehicle, neither do we.
Thank you to Cape Town City Toyota for believing in what we do. And thank you to every person who stands beside us — with a donation, a kind word, or simply by caring. Together, we’re giving our ocean’s wild ones the fighting chance they deserve.
Want to help keep these wheels turning? Visit www.dict.org.za — your support keeps us on the road, where we’re needed most.
Thank you to https://www.cfaomobility.co.za/toyota/find-a-dealer/cape-town-city/
