African Penguins - Bristol Zoo
There
are a total of 18,000 African penguin breeding pairs left in the wild. This is
a dramatic fall in numbers since 1900 when an estimated 2 million birds could
be found. This 97.5% drop in population means these penguins are now classified
as Endangered.
A
number of factors have contributed to this rapid decline in numbers. Commerical
enterprises are forcing many of these birds to nest on the surface, where they
are more vulnerable to predatory gulls. Over-fishing has reduced their food
supplies and egg harvesting has reduced their reproduction success. Oil
pollution is also a major threat to this species.
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