How you can help protect our African Penguins, now CRITICALLY endangered

Jeff Ayliffe joins Amy MacIver for The Outdoor Report.

Cape Town's Boulders beach is world-renowned for not just its natural beauty, but the presence of an African penguin breeding colony.

The stretch of coast that makes up the Boulders section of the Table Mountain National Park includes a viewing platform from where penguin antics can be enjoyed from a distance, but the creatures do stray on to the sands where beachgoers are allowed.

Over the summer holiday season, South African National Parks regularly issued notices that Boulders had reached capacity, with queues forming at the gate.

Now nature conservation has issued an appeal for the public to behave responsibly around the birds.

The African Penguin has been uplisted from 'endangered' to 'critically endangered' by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on their globally recognised Red List of Threatened Species.

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Please help protect the African penguins when visiting the Boulders penguin colony in Simon's Town, urges SANParks.

"The African Penguin has already lost 97% of its population and could face extinction if no action is taken."

"SANParks has put out that you can assist in a few ways, but most importantly when visiting the breeding colony, please keep a respectful distance so you don't stress them out."

Jeff Ayliffe, Outdoor Correspondent

The appeal makes special mention of social media users and influencers, asking them to recognise their power in setting trends and shaping attitudes.

Getting too close to African penguins can cause stress, disrupt natural behaviours, or even lead to the abandonment of nests, warns SANParks.

Any harassment of the species, listed under the Threatened and Protected Species regulations, can result in significant fines or even legal action, including arrest.

How you can help:

• When visiting the breeding colony – keep a respectful distance (minimum 3 meters).
• Use a zoom lens from a respectful distance to take videos and photographs.
• Spread awareness about the penguins' plight and support local projects and campaigns.
• Choose sustainable seafood from the WWF-SASSI programme.

Scroll up to listen to the The Outdoor Report (penguin discussion at 2:09)