African Penguin

African Penguins Simon's Town

A commonly asked question about African penguins is "why don't polar bears eat penguins?"

The answer is that Jackass penguins are only found in the Southern Hemisphere, and polar bears are only found in the Northern Hemisphere!

On the way to Cape Point, about 20 minutes drive from Cape Town centre, is a large beach area called Boulders Beach. It is frequented by a large colony of African Penguins (also known as the Jackass Penguin).

These penguins are very tame. They will happily bask in the sun between people lying on the beach. They do not seem to be bothered by all the attention they get, but they do have some parts of the area to themselves. A nature reserve has been declared here to protect this endangered bird.

Boulder's Beach is also one of only two places where jackass penguins can be seen on a mainland coast. They are usually found on small islands around the coast of Southern Africa.

Penguins cannot fly, at least not through the air. Some would say that they can fly through water. African penguins are excellent divers: they can dive to depths of 1000m and remain underwater for up to 20 minutes!

A few years ago, a ship sank close to Cape Town. A lot of oil was released into the ocean. Many penguins got covered in the sticky oil, and would have died without help. Luckily thousands of people helped to catch and clean the birds. Most of the penguins are now fine.