With their funny moves and elegant suit-like feather coats, African penguins are some of the most attractive sights for tourists on the South African coast.
But lack of food means this species is dying out, with only 25,000 pairs currently alive when 100 years ago there were over one million, an evironmental organization said Friday.
To avoid a continuous fall in numbers, conservationist organization Bird Life South Africa created an initiative to help foment colonies for the penguins on the continental coast, far away from the small islands that form their natural habitat.
"The African penguin only exists in South Africa and Namibia, so we have a global responsibility to protect it," said Christina Hagen, who works as a conservationist for Bird Life.
The initial phase of the project seeks to protect the little penguins from being devoured by leopards and gulls, a task which requires $5,400 in private donations for motion sensor cameras to detect the predators.
The cameras would also help collect information on the penguins' behavior and introduce mechanisms to distance them from carnivores.
"The reasons why the African penguin is in danger are all a consequence of human intervention, so I believe we have an ethical responsibility to fix the damage we've caused," said Hagen, adding that "most people don't even know they're endangered."
Every week, 23 African penguins die due to lack of food in the ocean, which many experts connect to climate change and over-fishing.
Source: EFE
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