The Penguin Palooza at Stony Point Nature Reserve this weekend
The fourth annual Penguin Palooza will be taking place on 7 December at the Stony Point Nature Reserve in Betty’s Bay. In order to celebrate the event, the 50 first visitors will gain free entry into the reserve.
Protecting the penguins
This event is hosted by CapeNature and the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB).
The Penguin Palooza aims to raise awareness for African penguin’s which are endangered. The event also celebrates the collaborative conservation work at the Stony Point colony.
This colony is one of two in the country – and one of the most successful breeding colonies in the world. There has been an increase in the number of penguins reported at the colony in the last decade.
The Penguin Palooza provides a platform for tourists and locals alike to witness the release of rehabilitated African penguins back into the water after treatment at SANCCOB.
Dr Razeena Omar, CEO of CapeNature says: “CapeNature and SANCCOB jointly employ a Penguin and Seabird Ranger at Stony Point to monitor the health and welfare of the African penguins and seabirds at the Western Cape’s most populated African penguin colony.”
SANCCOB and CapeNature staff will also be on hand to share insights into their work at the colony.
All are invited to join the public beach release at 10am, followed by a family day with conservation exhibitions, a community market, educational activities, lucky draws and food on sale at On the Edge Restaurant.
Stony Point Nature Reserve
Stony Point is situated in Betty’s Bay in the Overberg, where visitors can see penguins up close from the boardwalk through the colony. They live here in their natural habitat, with minimal disturbances from the public, making this a unique and conservation-friendly destination to visit.
There are also three species of cormorant; the Crowned cormorant, Cape cormorant and Bank cormorant, who breed on the outer rocks at the colony. Hartlaub’s Gulls and Kelp Gulls forage in the area, while Dassies can be spotted on the surrounding rocks.
The colony has a dark history as it was once the Waaygat Whaling Station, previously used to harvest and process whale meat in the early to mid 1900s. There are some remnants of this long-defunct industry at the site.
Stony Point Nature Reserve can be visited by all, with accessibility open to those who have walking-sticks and wheelchairs.
Conservation
This mainland seabird breeding colony is the home to three endangered seabird species and one rarity. All three are visible from the reserve’s viewing boardwalk.
The iconic African penguin is the focus of conservation efforts at Stony Point.
These black and white birds are the largest penguin colony in the Western Cape, with over 2 000 seasoned breeding pairs reported.
The Cape cormorant’s roosting numbers are increasing at this location due to their symbiotic foraging relationship they share with the deep diving penguin and other neighbourly marine predators.
The rarity is the crowned cormorant, whose pairing numbers are also increasing. They brood alongside the Bank cormorant and predominate the rocky slopes of Beacon Bay.
African penguins have endangered since industrial fishing started in the Cape. This resulted in a sharp population decline. Since the turn of the 20th century, 99% of the African penguin population has been lost. Scientists predict they could be functionally extinct, with less than 50 pairs in a colony by 2035.
South African scientists have hatched a plan to bribe penguins to build a new colony in the De Hoop Nature Reserve, over 200 kilometres from Cape Town, in a project called the African penguin Relocation Project. It is run in partnership by BirdLife South Africa and CapeNature.
Penguin decoys (models) were been installed to convince the penguins that that there are already birds breeding at the site.
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