PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - Plettenberg Bay is fast becoming a popular spot for rehabilitated penguins to dash for freedom and this month will see the fifth release of these birds over the past year.
Over the past 14 months the Nature’s Valley Trust, along with other stakeholders including Wessa beach stewards, Cape Nature, the Orca Foundation and BirdLife Plettenberg Bay, have systematically been releasing penguins found beached along the Garden Route. These penguins, that are often injured, ill, dehydrated or moulting, are taken to the Tenikwa Wildlife Rehabilitation and Awareness Centre on the outskirts of Plettenberg Bay where they are nursed back to health.
Most of the penguins found in the Southern Cape are believed to be from the Port Elizabeth penguin colony and have ended up in the area on their quest to find food. Food appears to be plentiful in the Plett area while other areas are showing signs of dwindling food sources.
When the penguins are strong enough they are released back into the ocean to great fanfare.
“The Plett community is amazing,” says Nature’s Valley Trust director Dr Mark Brown. “NVT have had four public releases in the last 14 months and have been blown away by the support and enthusiasm for these events with crowds ranging from 150 to 500 people-strong attending. On social media the response has been amazing too. The video of the most recent release had a reach of over 35 000 in just three days, with over 330 shares,” Brown says.
He adds that the real heroes are the members of the Plettenberg Bay Animal Stranding Network who rescue the birds, and the rehabilitation team at Tenikwa who nurse them to health.
Brown says come 21 September, another 10 penguins are expected to be released at Lookout Beach at 09:00.
He also says that the development of a breeding colony in Plett is still on the cards and is one of the strategies of BirdLife SA to secure the species in the long term. “A colony is currently being developed at De Hoop, and behind-the-scenes work with Cape Nature and the department of environmental affairs, along with key stakeholders, are still ongoing.”
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