Chilling with the penguins in Boulders Beach, Cape Town, South Africa

Penguins really are quite cute, aren’t they? Sadly, although the total population of African Penguins in the nineteenth century was around four million, as of 2019, there were only 20,850 pairs recorded, so they are listed as endangered. This is the only penguin species that breeds in Africa; they mate for life so are monogamous, and their diet mainly consists of sardines and anchovies. Overfishing, habitat destruction, and pollution are amongst the factors that have driven down their numbers in recent times.

Happily for me, I was able to see the colony that has resided at Boulders Beach since 1982, which numbers somewhere between two and three thousand penguins. The colony lives there all year round, with an extended breeding season that peaks in March to May each year. Part of Table Mountain National Park and covered with granite boulders which give it its name, the beach welcomes some sixty thousand visitors per year who come to see the little tuxedoed waddlers, who seem relatively unruffled by human proximity (although we were viewing them from a boardwalk and weren’t directly approaching them). Commercial trawling is prohibited in the area, and it is to be hoped that this will gradually improve the penguins’ situation and increase their numbers once again.

Here is some video footage showing them chilling on the beach. Looks like quite a nice life. Assuming you like swimming and fish, of course.