The African penguin (Spheniscus demersus), also called the Cape penguin or South African penguin, lives only in southern African waters. It is the only penguin species found in the Old World. Like all penguins, it cannot fly. Its body is shaped to move easily in water, and its wings are stiff and flat, like flippers. Adult African penguins weigh about 2.2–3.5 kg (4.9–7.7 lb) and are 60–70 cm (24–28 in) tall. They have pink skin above their eyes and a black facial mask. Their backs are black, and their bellies are white with spots and a black band.

The African penguin dives underwater to catch fish and squid for food. Once very common, this penguin is now the rarest penguin species. It is classified as critically endangered because its population is dropping quickly due to problems like losing habitat, overfishing, and climate change. People often visit areas where these penguins live. Other names for this species include black-footed penguin and jackass penguin. These names come from the loud, donkey-like sounds the penguins make (though other penguins in South America also make similar noises). African penguins are found along the coasts of South Africa and Namibia.

Taxonomy

In 1747, the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and description of the African penguin in the second volume of his book A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. He used the name "The Black-Footed Penguins" for the birds. Edwards created his hand-colored drawing based on two preserved specimens that had been brought to London. He believed the specimens had been collected near the Cape of Good Hope.

In 1758, the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his work Systema Naturae for the tenth edition. He classified the African penguin in the same genus, Diomedea, as the wandering albatross. Linnaeus gave the penguin the scientific name Diomedea demersa and mentioned Edwards’ work.

Today, the African penguin is grouped with banded penguins in the genus Spheniscus, a classification introduced in 1760 by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson. The name Spheniscus comes from the Ancient Greek word sphēn, meaning "wedge," which refers to the penguin’s thin, wedge-shaped flippers. The species name demersa is Latin for "plunging," derived from the word demergere, meaning "to sink."

Banded penguins live mainly in the temperate Southern Hemisphere. The Humboldt penguin and Magellanic penguin are found in southern South America, while the Galápagos penguin lives near the equator in the Pacific Ocean. These penguins share similar shapes, colors, and behaviors.

Description

African penguins are about 60–70 cm (24–28 in) tall and weigh between 2.2–3.5 kg (4.9–7.7 lb). Their beaks measure 4.8–6.5 cm (1.9–2.6 in) in length. Each penguin has a black stripe and spots on its chest, and these patterns are unique, much like human fingerprints. Sweat glands above their eyes help cool their blood. When temperatures rise, more blood flows to these glands, making them appear pinker. Males are slightly larger than females and have longer beaks. Juvenile African penguins lack the bold markings of adults. Instead, they have dark upperparts that range from greyish-blue to brown and pale underparts without spots or bands. Their beaks are more pointed than those of Humboldt penguins. The penguins’ coloring, which includes white undersides and black backs, is a type of camouflage called countershading. This helps them avoid predators by blending into the water when swimming. African penguins have salt glands above their eyes that remove excess salt from seawater they drink, helping them maintain balance between salt and water while foraging.

African penguins look similar to and are related to Humboldt, Magellanic, and Galápagos penguins. They are easily recognized by a thick black band shaped like an upside-down horseshoe. They have black feet and black spots that vary in size and shape. Magellanic penguins have a double bar on their throat and chest, while African penguins have a single bar. These penguins are sometimes called "jackass penguins" because of the loud, braying sounds they make.

Distribution and habitat

The African penguin lives along the southern and southwestern coasts of Africa. It builds nests in groups on 24 islands between Namibia and Algoa Bay, near Port Elizabeth, South Africa. This is the only penguin species that breeds in Africa. The name "Penguin Islands" comes from these penguins.

In the 1980s, two penguin colonies formed on the mainland near Cape Town: one at Boulders Beach near Simon’s Town and another at Stony Point in Betty’s Bay. These mainland colonies likely appeared recently because there are fewer predators now. However, the Betty’s Bay colony has been attacked by leopards. Another mainland colony exists in Namibia, but its start date is unknown.

Boulders Beach is a popular place for tourists because of its beach, swimming opportunities, and the penguins. Visitors can walk as close as one meter to the penguins without scaring them.

African penguins are kept in zoos around the world. No penguin colonies are found outside Africa’s southwestern coast, though some young penguins may travel beyond their usual range.

At the start of the 19th century, about 4 million African penguins lived. By the end of the 20th century, only about 10% of the 1.5 million penguins from 1910 remained. Since before industrial times, penguin populations in Namibia and South Africa have dropped by 95%.

Today, most African penguins breed on 24 islands from Namibia to Algoa Bay, South Africa. Boulders Beach is an exception. In 2000, the total population was about 150,000–180,000. Of these, 56,000 lived on Dassen Island and 14,000 on Robben Island. The Dyer Island colony in South Africa decreased from 46,000 in the early 1970s to 3,000 in 2008.

In 2008, about 5,000 breeding pairs lived in Namibia. By 2010, the total African penguin population was estimated at 55,000. If the decline from 2000 to 2010 continued, the species was expected to be extinct by 2026.

In 2012, about 18,700 breeding pairs lived in South Africa, mostly on St. Croix Island in Algoa Bay. By 2019, the total breeding population across South Africa and Namibia had dropped to about 20,850 pairs. By 2023, it had fallen below 10,000 pairs. At this point, the species was classified as critically endangered. Experts warned that it could become functionally extinct by 2035 if current trends continued.

Despite recommendations to close breeding areas to fishing, the South African government only kept some ineffective trial closures. In response, SANCOBB, BirdLife South Africa, and the Biodiversity Law Centre filed a lawsuit to force the government to protect the penguins. On March 18, 2025, before the court hearing, a settlement was reached. The government agreed to create larger, permanent no-fishing zones around six key breeding areas.

Behaviour

African penguins search for food in the open ocean, where they eat fish like sardines (including blue pilchards), Cape horse mackerels, red-eye round herrings, and anchovies (European anchovy and Southern African anchovy). They also eat marine invertebrates such as squids, small crustaceans, krill, and shrimp. Penguins usually swim within 20 kilometers (12 miles) of the shore. An adult penguin can eat up to 540 grams (1.19 pounds) of food each day, but this may increase to over 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) when feeding older chicks.

Because sardine populations near their habitat have decreased, African penguins now eat more anchovies. However, sardine availability still affects penguin numbers and breeding success. Anchovies are less nutritious than sardines because they have lower fat and protein levels. Penguin diets change with the seasons, and their food choices influence breeding success. Parent penguins protect their chicks but may not eat enough if food is scarce. This can lead to more chicks dying when food is limited.

When hunting, African penguins dive to an average depth of 25 meters (82 feet) for about 69 seconds. The deepest recorded dive was 130 meters (430 feet) lasting 275 seconds.

African penguins mate with one partner and build nests in colonies. They return to the same nesting site each year. Breeding season peaks from March to May in South Africa and November to December in Namibia. Penguins lay two eggs in burrows made in guano (bird droppings), under rocks, bushes, or in sand nests. Both parents share incubation duties for about 40 days. At least one parent guards the chicks for one month, after which the chicks join groups with other chicks. Both parents then spend most of the day foraging at sea.

Chicks leave the nest and fly to sea after 60 to 130 days, depending on food availability. They stay at sea for one to nearly two years before returning to their birth colony to moult. During moulting, penguins cannot swim because their new feathers are not waterproof. They fast for about three weeks, losing about half their body weight by using stored fat.

Breeding success depends on the availability of food. Penguins at Robben Island lay larger eggs, breed earlier, and produce more chicks when food is plentiful.

African penguins spend most of their lives at sea until they breed. Female penguins can remain fertile for about 10 years. To avoid predators on land, they often breed on offshore islands. They usually nest in winter when temperatures are cooler. Penguins may abandon eggs if they overheat in the sun, and these eggs do not survive. Eggs are three to four times larger than chicken eggs. Ideally, eggs are incubated in burrows made in guano layers, but human removal of guano has made this difficult. Penguins now dig sand burrows, nest under rocks or bushes, or use nest boxes if available. Parents care for chicks for three weeks before leaving them alone during the day. Chicks often die from predators or the heat. Parents feed chicks during dusk or dawn.

Artificial nest boxes that protect chicks from heat and predators were tested on Robben Island. Chicks in these boxes had higher survival rates than those in open nests.

In 2015, more male chicks were born than female chicks on Bird Island when food was abundant. Male chicks grew faster and had higher survival rates after fledging. This, along with higher female adult mortality, may lead to more males in adult penguin populations. Conservation efforts that help female penguins may be needed.

African penguins live 10 to 25 years in the wild and up to 34 years in captivity.

At sea, sharks and fur seals are the main predators of penguins. On land, predators of penguins and their chicks include kelp gulls, Cape genets, mongooses, caracals, and domestic cats and dogs. Penguins are more likely to lose chicks to predators if they nest in the open without burrows or nest boxes.

Threats and conservation

African penguin eggs were once considered a special treat and were eaten or sold for money as recently as the 1970s. In the 1950s, eggs were collected from Dassen Island and sold in nearby towns. In 1953, 12,000 eggs were taken from the island. In the late 1950s, some French chefs wanted recipes that included African penguin eggs collected from islands near the west coast of South Africa and ordered small amounts each year. In the mid-1960s, thousands of eggs were collected and sold in groups of 12, with each buyer allowed to buy only two dozen eggs total.

Collecting African penguin eggs often involved breaking eggs found a few days before a collection to ensure only freshly laid eggs were sold. This practice, along with removing guano (a type of bird droppings used by penguins to build nests) from islands for fertilizer, caused the African penguin population near the Cape coast to drop sharply.

African penguins are still affected by pollution from oil spills, shipwrecks, and tanker cleaning activities in the ocean. Reports of African penguins harmed by oil date back to the 1930s. Oil spills harm penguins in two ways: chronic (many small oil leaks over time) and acute (large oil spills from rare accidents). Many penguin species have been affected by oil spills in the southern hemisphere.

In 1948, the tanker Esso Wheeling sank, spilling oil that killed thousands of penguins on Dyer Island. In 1953, the tanker Sliedrecht spilled oil near Table Bay, killing penguins and other sea life. In 1971, the SS Wafra oil spill harmed penguins on Dyer Island. In 1972, a collision between two ships spilled oil that oiled about 500 penguins. In 1975, newspapers reported that oil pollution from shipwrecks and tanker cleaning had killed tens of thousands of African penguins. At that time, 650 oil tankers passed near Dassen Island each month because the Suez Canal was blocked, increasing ship traffic near the Cape of Good Hope.

In 1979, an oil spill led to the rescue and cleaning of 150 African penguins from St. Croix Island. After being released at Robben Island, four penguins swam back to St. Croix Island, surprising scientists.

In 1983, an oil spill near Dassen Island raised concerns about penguins, but only gannets (a type of bird) were oiled due to wind and water currents.

In 1994, an oil spill from the sinking of the MV Apollo Sea killed many penguins. About 10,000 penguins were rescued and cleaned, but less than half survived.

On 23 June 2000, the iron ore tanker MV Treasure sank near Robben Island and Dassen Island, spilling 400–1,000 tonnes of fuel oil. This caused the worst coastal bird crisis in history, oiling 19,000 adult penguins during their best breeding season. Oiled penguins were taken to a warehouse in Cape Town for care, while 19,500 un-oiled penguins were moved to safety. Volunteers helped clean the area and rescue the birds. This event, managed by IFAW and SANCCOB, saved more than 91% of the penguins.

After the 2000 oil spill, raising African penguins in captivity helped improve their survival rates, making them a good candidate for breeding programs that aim to release young penguins into the wild. However, concerns about avian malaria (a disease spread by mosquitoes) remain a major issue.

When penguins are moved inland for care, they are exposed to diseases like avian malaria, which has caused 27% of deaths among rehabilitated penguins each year.

Since 2016, small oil spills have occurred at the Port of Ngqura due to ship refueling. These spills have harmed hundreds of African penguins near St. Croix Island and other nearby islands.

The decline of African penguin populations in the 2000s was mainly due to less food, especially sardines and anchovies. Overfishing forced penguins to search farther for food and eat less nutritious prey. Limiting fishing near colonies like Robben Island for three years improved penguin breeding success. Longer fishing restrictions are being studied.

Fishing and climate changes have disrupted the Benguela ecosystem, which affects sardine and anchovy supplies. African penguins rely heavily on these fish, and current food shortages limit colony sizes.

Conservation efforts to increase Cape fur seal populations may have harmed African penguins. In Namibia and South Africa, seals have killed many penguins. Some conservationists suggest removing seals near penguin colonies to help penguins survive. Trials on Mercury Island showed that removing seals increased penguin numbers.

The African penguin is protected under the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA). In 2010, it was listed as endangered in the United States. As of 2024, it is critically endangered, with about 19,800 adult penguins remaining.

Organizations like SANCCOB, Dyer Island Conservation Trust, and others work to save African penguins. Efforts include monitoring populations, raising chicks, building artificial nests, and creating marine reserves where fishing is banned. Some colonies, like those on Dyer Island, may benefit from removing problematic seals.

SANCCOB, established in 1968, is the only organization in South Africa legally allowed to care for African penguins.

Captivity

African penguins are often found in zoos around the world. They do not need very cold temperatures, so they are often kept in outdoor enclosures. These penguins adjust well to living in zoos and breed more easily than other penguin species. In Europe, the EAZA breeding program is managed by Artis Royal Zoo in the Netherlands. In the United States, the SSP program is managed together by the AZA. The goal of these programs is to create a safe population in zoos and help protect wild penguins in their natural homes. Between 2010 and 2013, American zoos spent $300,000 on conservation efforts for wild African penguins.

Gallery

• An African penguin nesting
• A group of African penguins nesting on Boulders Beach in Cape Town
• African penguins standing on Boulders Beach
• African penguins standing on a rock at Boulders Beach
• An African penguin that is part of the Betty's Bay colony
• An adult African penguin (front) and a juvenile African penguin (back)