African Penguin Spheniscus demersus

Critically Endangered

Photo: Sasha Jarvis

Southern African Range: Coastal Namibia, South Africa
Area of Occupancy: 79,000 km2
Population Estimate: 29,000 adult individuals and 5,500 breeding pairs in Namibia
Population Trend: Decline of more than 50% in last three generations
Habitat: Mostly inshore marine waters, coastal islands and isolated mainland caves
Threats: Loss of prey base, breeding habitat degradation, low recruitment, seal and gull predation, pollution from oiling

Photo: J Kemper. View from Mercury Island towards Spencer Bay and Otavi
Photo: J Kemper. View from Mercury Island towards Spencer Bay and Otavi

Breeding

Breeds at ~12 localities in southern Namibia. Breeders generally forage within ~20 km of their colonies. Non-breeders may be found further afield; young birds from SA known to travel to Namibia.

Total breeding population: ~5600 pairs in 2017/18:

  • Mercury Island (3 ha) had 2645 pairs/nests 
  • Ichaboe Island (6 ha) had 346 pairs/nests.
  • Halifax Island (10 ha) had 1466 pairs/nests in 2017/18.
  • Possession Island (90 ha) had 944 pairs/nests.

Modelled population trend: -1.25% p.a. in last generation ( Sherley et al. 2020).

Diet

Main prey was sardine prior to the collapse of sardine stocks in southern Namibia in early 1970s (Matthews 1961).Diet now dominated by bearded goby Sufflogobius bibarbatus (e.g. Ludynia et al. 2010) Between 1996 and 2008 at Mercury Island: goby: 68% (frequency of occurrence); 59% (mass) sardine: 6%; 1% anchovy: 30%; 7% some hake, horse mackerel, squid, round herring, other No recent penguin diet monitoring has been done in Namibia Traditional feeding areas in central Namibia depleted ––“marine ecological trap”, including for juveniles dispersing from SA ( Sherley et al. 2017)

Status

The species was assessed for The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2024. Spheniscus demersus is now listed as Critically Endangered, a change from its previous status of Endangered.