A catastrophic collapse in sardine numbers along South Africa’s west coast left an estimated 60,000 African penguins dead from starvation over an eight-year period, a loss researchers say pushed the species closer to the edge of extinction.
The study, published in Ostrich: Journal of African Ornithology, found that between 2004 and 2011 sardine abundance fell to less than 25% of its historical high.
With their primary food source stripped away, penguins breeding at Dassen and Robben islands experienced a dramatic drop in survival. Researchers estimate that about 62,000 breeding adults, 95% of the birds that attempted to breed in 2004, died because they could not fatten up enough to moult or recover afterwards.
The paper revealed that “African penguins undergo a 21-day annual moult during which they fast entirely”.
“Birds that fail to build up sufficient fat reserves before or after this period simply do not survive.”
The collapse of sardine stocks was worsened by heavy fishing pressure. According to the research, the exploitation rate of sardines west of Cape Agulhas remained above 20% for most years between 2005 and 2010, peaking at 80% in 2006.
The findings add to growing alarm over the species’ future. In 2024 the African penguin was listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List, one step away from extinction in the wild.
The species has already lost 97% of its historical population and could vanish in less than 4,000 days if nothing changes, conservationists warned.
TimesLIVE
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