African Penguin predators

One of the reasons African penguins breed on islands is due to their inaccessibility for mainland mammalian predators.  As our project aims to establish a mainland colony, the possible presence of, and protection from, predators needs to be studied. There are five main predators to the African Penguin that have been identified. These are:

• Cape mountain leopard - Panthera pardus pardus
• Caracal - Caracal caracal
• Grey mongoose and Water mongoose - Galerella pulverulenta and Atilax paludinosus
• Genet - Genetta tigrina
• Domestic cats and dogs

The problem of predators is also connected to the lack of proper nesting material. Traditionally, African Penguins would make burrows in the thick layers of guano that used to cover the offshore islands. These “underground” caves provided protection from predators. However, because of the high demand for guano as fertiliser most of the guano has been removed. The penguins have adapted to breed under bushes, rocks, or man made artificial burrows made of fibre glass or “tunnels” fashioned from cement pipes.

 

African Penguins using an artificial burrow at the Stony Point colony.