Our feature creature has to be "Stumpy", in the forefront of this photograph.

He is an African Penguin, his latin name is Spheniscus demersus

So one has to ask, what's all the fuss about penguins?  Penguin numbers are declining drastically all over the world.  They are an indicator species, which means that they give an indication of the general health of their environment.  Declining numbers give an indication that all is not well.

But in the case of the African Penguin, this is an understatement!  Despite our best efforts at conservation, numbers continue to plummet, to the point now that unless we take drastic action, we will not be privileged to see penguins in the wild.

The conservation status of penguins has recently been upgraded to Endangered.  Over-fishing, contaminants such as oil spills, pollution, migration of fish species, predation by dogs when penguins come ashore to moult, is all contributing to putting a strain on the population.  A huge impact to the population was made earlier on in the century when man decided to commercially collect guano from the islands.  Suddenly the penguins were denied their traditional breeding burrows, leaving chicks exposed on the island and open to predation by gulls.  And of course, the fashionable eating of penguin eggs, well, luckily that's not popular anymore!

Stumpy is a penguin received by Tenikwa for rehabilitation, but due to the excessive injury to his flipper, he would not survive if he was released.  He can still swim & enjoy life, and hopefully one day, he can contribute to a conservation breeding program to breed penguin chicks in captivity, and then release them back to boost wild populations.

Penguin conservationists and conservation authorities are not just sitting back and letting our Jackass penguin (as he is also known), slide into extinction.  Several meeting have been held in preparation for a Biodiversity Management Plan to be developed for penguins.  An important kickoff meeting will be held in October 2010, bringing all involved in penguin conservation together for the first time to look at ways we can all pull the penguin back from extinction in the wild.

Remember, if you are visiting Plettenberg Bay "A penguin in Plett, Is a Penguin In Need" .  We dont have any resident colonies of penguins along the Garden Route, so any penguin who comes ashore is either sick or moulting. They should be picked up and brought to Tenikwa, or the nearest Conservation Authority.  We rehabilitate these penguins and return them to their colonies.  Walking by means almost certain death to that peguin, and every penguin counts.