What kind of penguins live in Africa? Cape of Good Hope and African penguins. Interesting facts about African penguins

The penguin is a strange bird. The smart-assed African penguin (this is their slang name, like, prankster penguins) is even funnier. Firstly, because he lives in Africa.

So, imagine: the heat, the sun, you are so handsome, walking around in black glasses and a cap... And then - time! - a penguin flies out at your feet. More precisely, he jumps out of the stairs. Because he knows how to climb it, because the steps exactly correspond to the height of his jump. He jumped and now wants to eat.

“These penguins are evil,” says the driver, “my girlfriend and I were once sitting on the beach.” While it was warm, the penguins lay and trudged. Then a cloud came and the shadow lay exactly on them. They got worried, crawled out of the sand and jumped towards us. Half an hour later, a crowd of penguins stood around us with faces like football fans after a loss to an unloved team. So, we left. Miraculously they survived.

What have they forgotten in Africa? It’s okay, they feel comfortable there. From the outside Atlantic Ocean a cold current comes, where they enjoy fishing. Sharks hardly touch them, because the penguin instinctively swims where it is cold. And it’s scary for a shark to swim where it’s cold.

They reproduce slowly because they are specifically monogamous. If the couple works out, then the penguins will be with each other for life. Once a year there will be an egg that they will take turns hatching. I saw how the father chick straightened the blades of grass for the mother chick: first he carefully inserted one that had stuck out, then he brought another new one and very slowly put it down. Birds don't move that slowly, but this one apparently was extremely careful.

If one of the penguins dies, the second one will no longer get along with anyone. Therefore, cats that eat penguins that have entered the city cause severe damage to the population.

Chicks are such cool Chewbaccas. They are born small, then grow brown until they recover and become a normal color.

Baby penguins:

Penguins live in nests. They dig nests under the grass to dive into. Environmentalists put half-buried barrels for them - even the stupidest and laziest penguin realizes that they can crawl there to regulate their temperature.

Penguins are cool. They float like a fan. Should be flying, but instead they float. It turned out that the design of the bird, with some upgrades, is also suitable for a submarine. In general, here it is, this whim of nature.

And some penguins from Antarctica sometimes swim to Africa. They warm themselves, bury themselves in the sand, sunbathe, swim away... and swim back if they suddenly want to. Damn downshifters.

African boy chasing a penguin:

These birds live in pairs:

Penguin Nest:

Completely fucking birds:

But they feel good here in Africa:

Very good:

In general - take care of the penguins. They're cool.

The Cape of Good Hope is one of the most famous places in Africa. For a long time it was considered the extreme southern point of the continent until it turned out that the neighboring Cape Agulhas was several meters further south. But by that time, the Cape of Good Hope had become famous throughout the world, and is still popular among tourists.

In the first part of the post I will talk about him, and in the second - about the most unusual inhabitants of Africa. Oddly enough, penguins live on the black continent and we went to the coast, where their colonies nest (or rather, even burrow)...

These stones in the water are the end of the Cape of Good Hope:

3.

There is a parking lot nearby on the shore where you can drive your car. What we did:

4.

After it was discovered that there was a mistake with the southern point, the Cape of Good Hope was given another honorary category, calling it the most southwestern point of the continent. This is what the inscription on the sign says, next to which everyone takes pictures.

It was the first time I saw someone taking pictures large group tourists: everyone puts their cameras in a line in front of the guide and he takes pictures in turn with each camera. It turns out this photographic conveyor belt lasts about fifteen minutes:

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Nearby there is a walking path to the cape itself:

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Somewhere the path goes along the ground, and somewhere there are wooden stairs. There are many black lizards on them that look like miniature crocodiles:

View from Cape of Hope on the South African coast:

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The most fearless tourists take pictures with their feet dangling from the cliff:

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And I just filmed my legs against the background of the cliff to show how steep it is:

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Regular readers know that I love to be photographed in different places, jumping up like a star. The Cape of Good Hope was no exception:

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The neighboring mountain, Cape Point, is significantly higher than the Cape of Good Hope and can be reached by cable car. Our random fellow travelers in the carriage also turned out to be Russian speakers:

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There are three lighthouses on this mountain - in the most highest point, somewhere in the middle and down by the sea. Only the last one works, since both top ones are hard to see in foggy weather:

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However, the tall lighthouse is popular with tourists as it offers excellent views of the Cape of Good Hope:

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On the observation deck there is a traditional indicator of distances to major cities of the world. I didn’t find Moscow there:

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Beautiful view at the meeting of two oceans - the Atlantic (right) and Indian (left). Their currents are so strong that not far from the shore they collide with each other and form a white seething seam on the calm water surface. Before the Cape was given the name of Good Hope, the first European navigator called it the Cape of Streams:

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The water element is also raging at the foot:

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I took this photo of the Cape and Cape Point a day later from Table Mountain, another famous hill in South Africa (I’ll talk about it in detail in one of the following posts):

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After the Cape of Good Hope we went for lunch near Penguin Beach. Street performers danced near its entrance:

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On the coast where penguins live, something like small nature reserve. Having paid five euros for the entrance, you find yourself on long bridges, behind which birds walk:

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There are enough people who want to see African penguins:

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However, there are also a lot of penguins. They live in burrows, go to sea for fish and come back to feed their offspring:

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This type of penguin is called spectacled or donkey. Why the donkey is clear: it makes sounds similar to the mooing of a donkey. Why spectacled is not clear:

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Spectacled penguins are listed in the International Red Book and the South African Red Book. This is due to the uncontrolled consumption of penguin eggs by African residents. Initially, the population of the species numbered two million individuals, but during the twentieth century, when 450 thousand eggs per year were collected for scrambled eggs, about twenty thousand remained:

24.

African or donkey penguins are amazing view penguins, which lives in the south Africa and nearby islands. On Robben Islands and Dessen are home to the largest colonies of this penguin species. But what about the generally accepted fact that penguins live only in low latitudes with cool water? Very simple. This part of Africa is washed Benguela Current, bringing coolness and comfortable conditions for their reproduction and habitat.

Strange name penguins received for the sharp and very loud sounds that they make like donkeys. Being next to a large colony is almost unbearable, because the cry of thousands of birds is very hard on the ears. The color of these birds is the same as that of other representatives of this species, but there are also some individual features that distinguish them from the rest.

The white chest of penguins is crossed by a black stripe that runs along the sides of the body to the very bottom. Also, on both sides of the head, above the eyes there is white stripe. This is not the tallest species of penguin, their average height is 60-65 cm. Birds, like all their relatives, feed on small fish, shrimp, krill and shellfish, but try not to swim far from shores .

To form a nest, penguins make a small depression and lay only one egg there. Their breeding season lasts almost the entire year, but the period from May to June is considered the most active. In the XV-XVI centuries. these penguins lived in huge colonies of several million individuals. Now, in the largest colony, the number of penguins hardly reaches 60,000.

The destruction of nests for eggs, the killing of adult birds for fat and meat, the making of rugs, bedspreads and blankets from the skins of killed birds - all this led to a rapid decline in the number of birds and their inclusion in the International Red Book. To date, African penguins no more than 140,000 individuals remain.

Do you know at least one animal that vocalizes louder and longer than a stubborn donkey? It turns out that such a representative of the earth's fauna really exists. And this is not just anyone, but a penguin, and an African one at that. The ability to produce heartbreaking cries, similar to the cries of a donkey, is the reason that African penguins are often called donkeys.

External structure

For a long time, penguins were considered a separate species of animal. Only relatively recently did analysis allow scientists to determine that they belong to a species of seabird. Scientists are also confident that penguins are one of the oldest representatives of birds. And perhaps they evolutionary development began in the era of dinosaurs.

African penguins are the largest spectacled penguins. Their height can reach 70 cm. Maximum weight is 5 kg. They have a standard color - black at the back, white at the front, that is, “under a tailcoat”. But “African” penguins have their own individual characteristics. This is a black stripe, transverse at chest level and going down the sides. Thus, it is shaped like a horseshoe.

All penguins, including African ones, have unusual ability stand and move vertically. This is possible thanks to special structure their paws, which are equipped with membranes of skin. With the help of these same paws, as well as wings shaped like an oar, they swim perfectly.

The baby is not as cute in appearance as the adult African penguin. The chick is covered with brown-gray down, which only acquires a blue tint upon reaching adulthood. The solid and threatening appearance of these birds is also due to the special shape of the beak and the presence of harpoon teeth, thanks to which the chicks catch fish with a “death grip”.

Features of behavior

African penguins feed mainly on anchovies and sardines.

Life expectancy varies between 10-12 years. Puberty occurs at the age of 4-5 years. The female usually lays 2 eggs at a time. Parents incubate them in turn for 40 days. For donkey penguins a clearly defined breeding season is not typical. Only the dependence of the egg hatching season on the habitat in which the African penguin is located is known. became the object of research by Argentine scientists. They found out that among the “Africans” there are couples who have not separated for 16 years. That is why penguins are called one of the most faithful modern representatives fauna.

The African penguin is also characterized by good endurance. Representatives of this species dive to a depth of more than 100 m, hold their breath for several minutes, and can swim non-stop for up to 120 km, while developing speeds of up to 20 km/h.

The main enemies of chicks are sharks and seagulls, while adults compete for prey and can become victims of fur seals.

Under the protection of the Red Book

At the beginning of the 20th century, these birds were on the verge of extinction. The reason for this was the use of their eggs for food by the local population. African penguins did not have time to hatch their eggs, as residents simply collected them. Today, this species is listed in the International Red Book and is protected by law. But even despite the protection, African ornithologists have noted a decline in the population of this penguin species by almost 50% over the past five years. Scientists link this fact with the depletion of fish stocks in ocean waters. Intensive commercial fishing leads to the fact that African penguins lack food, which, in turn, leads to the threat of extinction of this species of birds.

Distribution area

You can tell where African penguins live by the name of the species. They live on the coast South Africa and Namibia, as well as nearby islands where the cold is localized. They live in colonies. Today there are 140-180 thousand individuals, while, according to research, in 1900 the population consisted of 2 million individuals.

Penguins are certainly one of the most unusual inhabitants of Africa. They happily bask on the sands of Cape Town, enjoying sunbathing, fishing in the ocean waters and warmly welcoming numerous tourists, willingly posing in front of camera lenses.

Penguins are the most unusual inhabitants Africa. They bask on the sand of Cape Town, sunbathe, hunt anchovies in the ocean and entertain tourists. Travelers are willing to pay dearly for successful bird shots.

01. Initially, the combination of the words “penguins” and “Africa” evoked in my head the cognitive dissonance. I remembered the stories from the series “In the Animal World.” In them, these cute creatures dived like fish from huge ice floes and added black shades to the snowy expanses of Antarctica.

However, their habitat in South Africa is clear and logical: the Cape Peninsula is washed by the cold Benguela Current. In it, penguins feel like fish in water. A similar situation on Galapagos Islands. Thanks to the Humboldt Current, waterfowl are also at home at the equator.

02. After the excursion to the Cape of Good Hope, the guide took our group to the penguin habitat. They live in a large colony of three thousand on the southern coast of Africa. Local businessmen make a good profit from the settlement by selling photo sessions with wonderful birds to tourists.

03. African penguins live in Cape Town, which are also called donkey penguins because their voices are similar to the cries of a stubborn pack horse. By the way, penguins also appreciate a beautiful tan. :-)

04. Tourists who paid a fine were subject to a small observation deck, behind which the penguins hung out. We found another way and managed to catch the seabirds in their natural environment. To do this, you only had to walk 200 meters to the barrier. It was guarded by local dark-skinned security who let us into the reserve quite easily.

05. African penguins are listed in the International Red Book. Now their population numbers only 26 thousand individuals, although at the beginning of the 20th century the number of birds varied at around two million. The extinction of the species is due to several reasons. One of the main ones is the gastronomic value of penguin eggs. People who love delicacies kill thousands of unhatched babies.

University of Bristol specialist Peter Barham sees other explanations for the population decline. In particular, a decrease in food resources due to high fishing for sardines and anchovies. Other negative factors include oil tanker accidents that pollute water, and seals who love to hunt penguins.

06. When the guys and I approached the penguins, they opened their eyes, indifferently assessed us and continued to bask in the sun.

07. African penguins have a standard tailcoat coloring: the back is dark, the front is light. Their individual feature is a black stripe crossing the chest and going down the sides.

08. The average height of African penguins is 65 centimeters.

09. The chicks are covered with brownish-gray down, which later acquires a bluish tint. They look solid and menacing. Especially because of the beak, which has a bunch of harpoon teeth that allow you to grab dead fish grip.

10. Changed the angle - and our hero became a cutie. Well, or almost cute. :-)

11. Rocky shores and wind-protected bays = luxury penguin apartments.

13. Guerrilla penguin sitting in ambush.

14. Penguin model. He likes to pose from different angles, is not grumpy, willingly changes poses and makes contact with people. Ideal hero for portraits, as Dima, Maxim and Petya will confirm.

15. Neighbor Duck. Unfortunately, my ornithological knowledge is not sufficient to give information about it information certificate. Maybe you can tell me?

16. Mi-mi-mi:

17. Penguins eat small fish, krill, shrimp and shellfish, hunting for victims at speeds of up to 20 km. at one o'clock.

18. We kept waiting for our next hero to go into the water for provisions, but every time he changed his mind at the last moment, testing our patience. What a little bastard!

19. A colorful trio, moving with the gait of Charlie Chaplin. :-)

20. D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers. :-)

To be continued…
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