Tag Archives: African Penguins

‘Penguin Town’ Netflix documentary puts Simonstown on the map (again), nominated for 6 Daytime Emmys!

 

Following hot on the heels of the documentary ‘My Octopus Teacher’ winning an Oscar for the South African and Cape production in 2021, a new local documentary ‘Penguin Town’ has been nominated for six 49th annual Emmy Daytime Awards.

The Film has been nominated in the ‘Outstanding Travel, Adventure and Nature Program’ category, one of five contenders in the category. It has also been nominated in the ‘Outstanding Music Direction and Composition’ (with the theme song ‘Pushin’ On’ composed by Cape Town’s The Kiffness), in ‘Outstanding Single Camera Editing’, in  ‘Outstanding Sound Mixing and Sound Editing’,  in ‘Outstanding Daytime Program Host’, and in the ‘Outstanding Cinematography’ categories. Continue reading →

African Penguins climb up endangered list

The African Penguin is officially on the endangered bird species list, and could become extinct, reports the Cape Argus.  It is the first time that this penguin type, which is an icon for the Simonstown beaches in particular, has been flagged as being more likely to become extinct, as defined by BirdLife International, which compiles the list for the World Conservation Union.

Population figures for the African Penguin have shown a rapid decline, and it is speculated that it is due to changes in commercial fishing and “shifts in prey populations”, says the report.   The University of Cape Town’s Animal Demography Unit is studying the African Penguin, and is concerned about the steady decline in penguin numbers.  The unit is unable to define the exact reason for the decline, and therefore no conservation action can be taken to reverse the trend.   What the Unit has identified however is that the location of the African Penguin breeding colonies is not aligned to where they can get to fish within a 20 km radius.   The change in fish location may be due to climate change.

All in all, the future of the African Penguin does not look promising.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com