The Penguin Post

And a happy mid-spring

Most people in the Northern Hemisphere will be moving into spring weather (or perhaps are already deep into spring, depending where you are), and I thought what better way to celebrate the coming warmth than with a brief newsletter with, rather than any real news, some happy photos. Here in the Southern Hemisphere, of course, we are (finally!) coming into colder weather. The past few nights we have had bonfires, the ocean is getting cooler, and we can now comfortably wear jeans and sweaters. This is, for me, a very welcome change!

In February of this year, I traveled to Cape Town. I had never been before, but had wanted to go for a long time. My friends, who used to live in Mozambique and are now back in their home country, the UK, were free, and so was I, so we decided to book tickets and head off together. One of the must-sees on our list was a colony of penguins.

I had never actually seen wild penguins before this, so it was quite cool to see them in a natural environment. These are African Penguins (Spheniscus demersus), also sometimes called the Cape Penguin, and we went to a place called Boulders Beach near Simonstown to see them. There, there is a population of almost 3,000 of these penguins. The first ones arrived in 1982 looking for a safe place to nest, and since then the population has grown. Penguins are threatened by things like pollution and over-fishing, but here, they have a safe haven in a protected area.

Above is a penguin sunning himself happily (or herself - I’m not sure how to tell the difference…). The beach was dotted with sandy depressions - penguin nests - and we saw lots of young penguins, nesting chicks, and mothers on eggs.

They were very affectionate with each other by the nests, all preening and huddling close.

Below is a mixed group with a few lighter colored, scragglier young penguins amongst with the adults.

Above, you can see the beautiful mountain range behind the clear blue water - an idyllic scene.

Boulders Beach has a network of winding wooden footpaths overlooking the sandy beach where the penguins live. They are sheltered by rocky cliffs on either side, creating a little safe haven for the penguins to mate, nest, raise eggs and chicks, swim, and do whatever else penguins do.

These ones were enjoying surfing in and out on the shallow waves. What a happy life for a penguin!