11 rehabilitated African Penguins released back into the wild in Simon's Town

Eleven rehabilitated African Penguins have been released back into the wild at Seaforth Beach in Simon’s Town. 

The release over the weekend was facilitated by non-profit organisation, the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) to celebrate African Penguin Awareness Day. 

African Penguin Awareness Day is observed annually to raise awareness about the urgent need to protect the endangered penguin species.

The organisation said that every penguin that was released faced many challenges in their recovery process.

Head of conservation at the foundation, Nicky Stander, said more needed to be done to address the dwindling population numbers.
 
"It’s a day where we celebrate the amazing species that is the African Penguin, only found on the coasts of South Africa and Namibia. And it’s also a day where we get to raise awareness specifically about the threats facing the species and what we need to do to save them from going extinct."