25 April is “celebrated” as World Penguin Day, a day to raise awareness about penguins. Sadly, for the African penguin if we do not act now, we will in future be commemorating the day. The African penguin population is crashing. On Dyer Island the numbers dropped from 36 000 pairs in 1976 to 903 pairs in 2023. The South African population [...]
Dyer Island Conservation Trust, in collaboration with the Overstrand Municipality, Western Cape Education Department (SAFE Schools), and CapeNature, proudly recognized young marine conservationists during the annual Marine Month Competition Winners Announcement. On Saturday, December 2, finalists and winners, accompanied by proud teachers and parents, gathered at the African Penguin and Seabird Sanctuary for the awards ceremony. This year, Marine Dynamics’s [...]
Thanks to a grant from the Disney Conservation Fund (DCF) that allows us to deploy a specialised seabird ranger on Dyer Island, the African penguins and other seabirds on Dyer Island now have an extra pair of eyes to watch over them. DCF grant recipients are selected based on their efforts to implement comprehensive community wildlife conservation programs, stabilise, and increase [...]
The African penguin is on the brink of possible extinction in the wild within the next decade. Partnerships are vital in the ongoing effort to stabilise the African penguin population numbers. This is one of the reasons that African penguins are at the heart of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that exists between CapeNature, the custodian of the Western Cape’s natural [...]
We are all entering the year 2021 with a large amount of apprehension and anxiety. To counter these “symptoms” the African Penguin & Seabird Sanctuary (APSS) issued a perky penguin prescription filled with a good dose of joy and hope on the first day of 2021. Fourteen African penguin fledglings and four adult penguins were returned to the wild after spending [...]
The year 2020 has zoomed in and virtually changed our world. With due concern for the coronavirus pandemic, the African Penguin and Seabird Sanctuary’s fourth annual 5km March for the Penguins will now be VIRTUAL. Be part of the movement - 21 December 2020 to 5 January 2021 How to join the March Register on our March for the Penguins, RaceOne [...]
It is practically impossible to look at a penguin and feel angry – Joe Moore This #WorldPenguinDay, is different. Today we convey a message from the penguins to the people. Today we will be there for you, we will provide you with some comic relief, we will try to make you smile, we will post some of our comic antics and [...]
Over 200 people walked, waddled or ran in the annual March for the Penguins held at the African Penguin and Seabird Sanctuary (APSS) in Gansbaai. The 5km fun walk arranged by the Dyer Island Conservation Trust has become a highlight on the calendar for locals and visitors to Gansbaai. The event creates awareness about the endangered status of the African penguin [...]
For the African penguin, the writing may be on the wall. Only 13 500 breeding pairs left and hardly any sardines for the penguins to feed on, they are staring down the abyss of extinction. So many days so many causes, so many things we have to be aware off BEWARE do not to get drowned in awareness. Remove action from CONSERVATION [...]
The eco tent at the Hermanus Whale Festival was a real winner this year with many interested visitors. The Dyer Island Conservation Trust/Marine Dynamics team was there, for their tenth year, and had excellent engagement with children and adults alike. “The displays encourage children to understand our marine species and how scientists study them. As such, we had some shark fin [...]
