To say that the earliest penguins discovered by humans are really not the emperor penguins and Adélie penguins that grow in Antarctica, but the black-footed penguins that are active in the Cape of Good Hope.
The black-footed penguin is scientifically named the spotted ring penguin, and the appearance of this penguin can be roughly inferred from the name, with a black mouth, black feet, and a ring-shaped color block on the body... In contrast to their physical characteristics, the reason why spotted-billed ring penguins break into human vision is that they live in Africa.
Fast forward to the end of the 15th century, when navigators such as Dias and Vasco da Gama may have seen spotted penguins at the Cape of Good Hope when they explored new routes, after all, at that time, their lives were not disturbed, and there may be millions of them.
Moreover, the spotted-billed ring penguin has a very wide range, covering the southern coastal areas of Africa from Mozambique to Namibia.
In fact, there are many misconceptions about penguins and Africa.
First, penguins don't just live in Antarctica;
Second, Africa does not equal heat and heat.
Let's start with the penguin habitat.
Of the 18 known penguin species, 16 of which do not live entirely in Antarctica, such as the Humboldt penguin that inhabits the west coast of South America, the Garo Island ring penguin that inhabits the Galapagos Islands near the equator, and the small blue penguin that inhabits southern Australia.
Since they live in different regions, there are natural differences in physical characteristics, and the largest emperor penguins have thick fat and hair in order to resist the cold.
The reason why the spotted ring penguins are the second smallest family members is because they do not need thick hairs to keep warm, so they look more compact and flexible.
Let's talk about the climate in Africa.
There are as many as five different climate types in Africa (including tropical desert climate, savannah climate, tropical rainforest climate, Mediterranean climate, highland mountain climate), heat mainly refers to tropical desert climate, and the Benguela cold current in the western seas of South Africa makes the temperature in this coastal zone not too high.
In other words, the temperature in the living area of the spotted ring penguin is maintained at 15 degrees Celsius to 25 degrees Celsius all year round, which is relatively mild.
At the same time, the spotted ring penguin has also developed a special adaptation system, if the spotted ring penguin feels heat, as the body temperature rises, its blood will accelerate the flow through the glands at its eyelids, reducing the body temperature while their eyelids turn pink.
Of course, hiding in burrows and jumping into the water is also an effective way for spotted penguins to escape the heat.
Because people find the spotted ring penguin earlier, their intersection with humans is naturally more, especially the spotted ring penguin will make a donkey-like call when courting, which is easier to attract people's attention.
In one confrontation after another, the vigilance and combat effectiveness of the spotted ring penguin have been improving, but they are powerless against human egg grabbing and fat grabbing.
Egg snatching. The eggs of the spot-billed penguin have a long history in South Africa, and are considered to be a rare delicacy, this egg is three to four times the size of the egg, and when cooked, the egg white will show a transparent color, and the color is somewhat similar to the lychee meat, so it was once loved by chefs.
It is estimated that from the 1950s to the 1960s, tens of thousands of spotted ring penguin eggs were served on the table every year, not only that, diners also pursued the freshness of penguin eggs so much that many eggs were discarded because they became "defective products" that were not fresh, which undoubtedly hit the population of spotted ring penguins.
It was not until 1970 that the commercial collection of penguin eggs was banned.
Grab the fat. For the spot-billed ring penguin, it is the material they need to build their nests. Winter is the breeding season for the spotted-billed ring penguins, which nest and lay eggs on offshore islands. Because penguin eggs cannot hatch at high temperatures, penguin parents will dig a hole in the poop pile and bury the eggs in it, using the poop to avoid direct sunlight on the eggshell, keep the eggshell moisture, and let the penguin eggs hatch smoothly.
For humans, penguin poop is rich in nitrogen and phosphorus, as fertilizer is more appropriate, people shoveled off the thick spotted ring penguin poop, so that penguins can not build nests, they can only dig holes in the sand, or simply lay eggs on the ground, eggs do not have the right incubation temperature, hatching success rate will be greatly affected.
Moreover, the large collection of spotted ring penguin poop not only endangers their nesting and hatching, but also destroys their living place.
As a result, the population of the spotted ring penguin has been declining, and worse, in the 1960s and 1970s, overfishing sardines off the coast of South Africa has led to a sharp decline in one of the food sources of the spot-billed ring penguin.
Under normal circumstances, in the first three months after the birth of the spotted ring penguin cubs, the penguin parents will dive into the sea early in the morning to fish, and then bring the fish back to the nest for the cubs to eat, but the reduction of prey in the water and too many humans on the shore make the penguin parents move back to the nest more and more time, and the survival rate of the cubs is reduced because they cannot get enough food supplies in time.
In addition, the crude oil accident and the predation of South African fur seals, foxes, snakes and owls are the survival problems that the spotted ring penguin needs to deal with. At the beginning of the 19th century, the number of spotted ring penguins was about 4 million, and in the early 20th century it decreased to 1.5 million.
Although the commercial collection of penguin eggs and the collection of poop have been banned today, the long-term damage to the spotted ring penguins has made them a vulnerable species, and the simplest way to live well is no longer an easy task for them.