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Today on Animal Fact Files we’re discussing African penguins. Also known as cape penguins, black foot penguins, and jackass penguins, African penguins get this last common name from the donkey-like brays they produce. They’re closely related to Galapagos, Magellanic, and Humboldt penguins, some other warm weather tolerant species. African penguins can be discerned from Galapagos and Megallanic penguins because they typically have two black bands across their chest compared to the African penguin’s one. Humboldt penguins also have only one black band but they have more pink in the beak when compared to African penguins.

African penguins are aptly named because they’re the only Penguins that live and breed in Africa. They live along the southern shores of the continent and on coastal islands. These penguins are able to tolerate warmer weather by spending the hottest parts of the day at rest and under cover. They’re most active at dawn and dusk meaning they’re crepuscular like ocelots. Those that don’t have eggs to worry about often gather on beaches and keep cool by staying near or in the water throughout the day.

African penguin nests are constructed under shaded areas below shrubs or in crevices. They breed year round though they form large breeding colonies at peak breeding times which change based on the location. African penguins return to the same place each year to breed. They’ll remain with the same mate throughout a season and often over concurrent seasons. Eggs are laid two at a time and both parents incubate them. They have a bald “brood patch” on their bellies to keep the eggs warm. The eggs hatch 40 days later and chicks are fed by both parents over the next month. At this point young form groups until their juvenile feathers grow in about two months later. After this, without their parent’s help, the young penguins leave the colony and head out to sea for at least a year. African penguins typically don’t begin breeding until they reach three years of age.

Outside of the breeding season, the penguins may be more dispersed from their colony site. They’re considered a coastal species but may be found as far as seven and a half miles (12km) off shore. During a single hunt, they may swim forty three miles (70km)! African penguins hunt for fish including anchovies, sardines, and mackerel. They also eat squid and crustaceans. Natural predators to African penguins include cape fur seals, leopards, mongooses, gulls, and more, but their biggest threats are anthropogenic, or human-related. Feral cats pose a risk to African penguin colonies located on the mainland. They’ve also struggled from egg harvesting in the past. There are believed to have been millions of African penguins just over 100 years ago. Today, there are fewer than 200,000 breeding individuals and that number is falling each year. Competition for food with the fishing industry as well as oil pollution are reducing their numbers. As of this recording, African penguins are listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List.

In size, African penguins stand 18 inches (46cm) tall and weigh about six and a half pounds (3kg). They can dive up to 430 feet (130m) but mostly stay above 100 feet (30m) deep. They can reach speeds up to twelve and a half miles per hour (20kmh) while underwater. That’s faster than most people can run on average! In the wild, African penguins live to be 10 to 20 years old.

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