BEIJING, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- On the coast of South Africa's Western Cape, a new "real estate" project is in full swing: these "houses" are snow-white, airy and have amazing sea views, but they are small in size — each "house" can only house one penguin family.
This is an African penguin photographed on Boulders Beach in Simmondstown, South Africa, on September 29, 2021. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Cheng
CNN reported on the 23rd that these "houses" are actually artificial penguin nests. They are ceramic and look like tunnel structures with one high and one low end. Its unassuming "house" is the brainchild of the designer's years: the double-layer design and the sun-reflecting white surface help keep the internal temperature below 35 degrees Celsius, which is conducive to penguin eggs hatching.
The African Penguin Nest Project, jointly carried out by Dallas Zoo, American Association of Zoos and Aquariums, Pan African Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and the Dale Island Conservation Foundation in South Africa, aims to increase the number of African penguins by placing artificial nests to provide penguins with safe and sun-shielded shelter so that they can raise their next generation.
This is an African penguin photographed on September 28, 2021 at the Stoney Point African Penguin Sanctuary in Betty Bay, South Africa. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Cheng
Kevin Graham, coordinator of the Penguin Nest Project, said the project began in late 2018 and has so far placed more than 1,500 artificial nests in five penguin habitats in South Africa, of which more than 500 are concentrated on Dale Island, one of the main habitats of African penguins. Every time an artificial nest is placed, penguins rush inside within minutes. Today, these nests are more than 99% utilized, and penguins have a much higher success rate in hatching babies than in other locations.
Each artificial nest costs about $75, can last at least 15 years, and is expected to allow 30 penguin couples to hatch about 60 baby penguins, Graham said. In addition, the project will be expanded next year to Namibia, another major habitat for African penguins. The ultimate goal of the project team is to install 4,500 industrial penguin nests so that all penguins in need can live in "new homes".
African penguins are endemic to coastal areas of southern Africa. Once upon a time, they burrowed in the thick pile of sea guano on the shore to build their nests and thrive. According to CNN, in 1900, the African penguin population was estimated to be about 1.5 million to 3 million. But since the 19th century, local traders have collected sea guano to sell as fertilizer, resulting in penguins increasingly exposed to predators and sunlight. Add in the increasing theft of penguin eggs, overfishing and climate change, and by 2019 there were fewer than 20,000 pairs of penguins in the region in the breeding season with a male and a female mate. The International Union for Conservation of Nature listed African penguins as endangered more than a decade ago. (Jing Jing)
Source: Xinhua News Agency