Smiling and waving back to freedom

Update

PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - Residents and visitors in Plettenberg Bay once again flocked to the beach on Saturday 28 January to witness what has become a regular happening in Plett over the past four years - the release of African penguins on Lookout Beach.

The sight of rehabilitated penguins waddling their way down the beach and disappearing into the waves leaves all in attendance warm and fuzzy inside.

And this experience is thanks to many different local environmental groups that are part of an effort by various conservationists, including the Tenikwa Wildlife Rehabilita-tion and Awareness Centre, the Nature's Valley Trust, Wessa beach stewards, CapeNature, the Orca Foundation and BirdLife Plettenberg Bay, to counter dwindling African penguin numbers.

Many penguins wash up on the beaches of Plettenberg Bay and surrounds due to factors such as dehydration, exhaustion, arrested moult or illness.

They are then nursed back to health and, after an all-clear, are released back into the wild.

On Saturday, the five rehabilitated penguins didn't hesitate to make their way down the beach from their enclosure. One in particular seemed so excited that it took a misstep and tumbled, but got right back up and joined the others in the dash into the ocean, where they disappeared in the waves.

One of the penguins, named Brownie, was rescued on 6 January along the Robberg Peninsula. He started going into arrested moult which is often triggered by the lack of sustenance before the moulting process. Brownie got his name due to his brown appearance, which differs from the traditional black-and-white adult plumage.

The little guy went on an intensive supplement regime at Tenikwa to bring him into moult. Through the natural process of preening, he became sufficiently waterproof and was considered ready for release.

Brownie's cheeky juvenile mate, Green Tag, who got his name from the tag he was given on arrival at the rehab centre, was also released. He weighed only 1,86kg on arrival on 28 November last year, but was 2,98kg on the day of release. Green Tag was known for his insatiable appetite - he consumed six sardines in a day, while his friends ate four.

His rehabilitation mate Blue, a spotted juvenile penguin, finally got to the open waters after he arrived from Buffalo Bay on 12 October last year. He weighed only 1,9kg when he arrived and was 2,86kg when he waddled to freedom.

Friends Aria Kotze (centre) and Lily Gowar (right) help open the gates for the penguins. Photo: Patrick Raymond

The rose among the thorns was Diablo, a female African penguin that also came from Buffalo Bay with an injury to her abdomen. She arrived on 16 November last year. She was given her devilish name thanks to her aggressive nature and strong bite.

This side of her however didn't scare off Tenikwa resident Agent 21/078 - a name given to him because of his stealthy ways of nabbing some fish while the feeders' backs are turned. He arrived at Tenikwa on 8 December from Knysna, weighing 2,02kg.

According to the team at Tenikwa he couldn't fatten up prior to his moulting and that caused a string of problems including not being sufficiently waterproof, which in turn leads to a low chance of survival in the cold water.

During his stay at Tenikwa this secret agent found love in Diablo. The team said they formed an instant connection and paired. He not only found love, but also a lot of fish and the team said they devoured a whopping 1 069 sardines between December 2021 and January 2023.

Friends Aria Kotze (left) and Lily Gowar (right) opened the gates to freedom for the penguins. They are pictured here with Steve Serfontein, chairman of the Plett Birding Club.