We all know that Africa is not for “sissies” and the African Penguin is a perfect example of African tenaciousness. The story of the African penguin is not a good story to tell. This iconic bird is on the brink of extinction. We have lost 99% of our African Penguin population through no fault of their own.
Forced removals
Guano (an Inca word for a mix of eggshell, feathers, decayed corpses and bird excrement)
Before the advent of artificially produced fertiliser,guano was considered a top quality fertiliser rich in nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. In the 1800s, which is when the “White Gold Rush” began, a ton of guano fetched ten pounds or more in London. That translates to 580.00 pounds per ton in today’s terms.
The guano was scraped from the penguin breeding islands. On Dyer Island, the guano layer was between 4-6m deep.Penguins used to build their nests by burrowing into the thick layers of guano. This “forced removal” from well protected, temperature controlled burrows to open surface nests, exposed the African Penguin to the harsh African heat and occasional flooding. This “open-plan” living arrangement turned their eggs and chicks into an easy meal for predators like gulls & skuas
(As an aside: The acronym SHIT actually derives from the transport of guano. Because guano is rich in ammonia – the overwhelming ammonia fumes caused by the wet guano stored in the hull of ships, caused some serious health issues for sailors. It was therefore decided that guano bags must be stored in the middle of the ship to prevent it from getting wet. Bags were stamped with the acronym S.H.I.T to indicate that these bags must be Stored High In Transit.) One can therefore say that the African Penguin has directly contributed to one of the most recognisable words in the world.
“Eggicide”
In the late nineteenth century, penguin eggs became a popular delicacy among the rich & famous. African penguin eggs were served on the Titanic and every Wednesday as a breakfast delight in the South African parliament. It is weird to understand why, because the eggs have a very fishy smell and a green tint.
Between the 1920’s and mid-1950’s it is estimated that 48% of all African Penguin eggs were collected for human consumption. Egg collection on Dyer Island occurred from 1875 to 1968, with the largest annual harvest recorded in 1905, when 62 500 eggs were collected. On Dassen Island over 590,000 penguins eggs were harvested in one year. The impact of this “eggicide” is immeasurable.
Because penguins wi