The Jackass or African Penguin, found in Simonstown Cape Town are the only species of its kind found on the African continent. Most colonies are on coastal islands like Robben Island – but on Boulders beach just outside Simonstown, there is a land based colony bordering on 3 500 penguins.
Called the Jackass Penguin because of their call which sounds like the braying of a donkey, they were re-named African Penguins to distinguish them from the South American Penguins of the same name. Penguins and their eggs were considered a delicacy in the early days of colonisation and they were hunted mercilessly, thankfully schemes are now under way to protect these birds, although human habitation still poses a threat to their existence in the form of oil spills and overfishing of their hunting grounds.
Penguins are known to mate for life, the same pairs coming back to their nests every year to lay eggs. The Penguins outside Simonstown in Cape Town are known to lay from March to May, after which the young hatch and stay with the adults until they are a few months old and big enough to make it out to sea on their own. Penguins are a delight to watch and shouldn’t be missed on a trip through Simonstown.
