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Flying penguins to safety
***When the iron ore carrier, Treasure sank on June 23 this year, the fuel tanks ruptured an^jiji estimated 400 tonnes of heavy fuel oil spewed out into the sea. Large slicks came ashore at Robben Island and Dassen Island. Thousands of penguins became^ oiled. Saving the birds became a massive co-operative venture involving experts in bird conservation, coastal management, oiled bird cleaning and diving. It was also, an exercise in logistics with the co-ordination of volunteers, helicopters, boxes andi even toothbrushes, writes Chris Harbard from Cape Town***
HUDDLED together against a two-foot high wall stand a group of 100 African penguins, looking slightly bewildered as people holding large cardboard boxes walk towards them. All escape is blocked by a wire fence extending away from the wall and around, along the coastal edge, meeting the wall again 200 metres further on. This rathq strange and pathetic scene was part of a rapid rescue plan to save one of the world's most threatened birds from what could be one of the last nails in its coffin. The people with the boxes are working for Western Cape Nature Conservation and they are trying to catch the penguins to stop them going out to sea where they might become polluted by oil.
The story began when the iron ore carrier. Treasure found Itself in difficulties and requested to enter port at Cape Town. The ship was considered unseaworthy and so the port authorities refused it entry. As a ,ug began to tow it back out to sea. the towrope broke and the boat foundered and sank between Robben and Dassen Islands - home to 40 per cent of the world's African penguin population. The breaking of the rope signalled the start of a furious struggle Involving world experts on oil. salvage, penguin conservation, and bird welfare.
The African penguin, known also as the Jackass penguin because of the donkey-like braying noise it makes, was much
more plentiful 100 years ago when the population numbered about 15 million birds. Now only 10 per cent of them remain, a mere 150.000 birds, concentrated on Islands like Robben and Dassen and increasingly vulnerable to oil pollution incidents.
Seabirds always suffer when there are oil-spills but as penguins cannot fly and spend their time at sea on the surface, they will always get covered in oil when a spill happens near a colony. Occasional oiling Is bad enough but with so many ships and tankers passing South Africa's coastline incidents like this are quite regular, but never before on this scale
When Treasure sank on June 23, the fuel tanks ruptured and an estimated 400 tonnes of heavy fuel oil spewed out into the sea. forming large slicks. On June 25 the oil came ashore at Robben Island and by 27 June it surrounded Dassen Island Thousands of penguins became oiled. Saving the olrds and removing the threat of oil became a massive co-operative venture involving experts In bird conservation, coastal manage meat, oiled bird cleaning and diving. It was also an exercise In logistics with the co-ordination of volunteers, helicopters, boxes, even toothbrushes WWF South Africa geared up for action.
The South African National Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) is the world expert
in cleaning oiled penguins and their facilities and expertise were immediately made available. WWF-SA offered funding. Oiled penguins were collected by a team ot volunteers and taken to cleaning facilities where more volunteers began the laborious task of cleaning them.
The next problem was how to stop more penguins getting oiled every lime they went out to sea. With oil out there and more intact tanks on the wreck that could rupture al anv time, the risk was high.
The answer was the biggest evacuation of wildlife since Operation Noah during the flooding of Lake Kariba. The penguins on Dassen Island are concentrated at the breeding colonics and these areas were fenced in to stop birds leaving to feed. Clean penguins were easily rounded up and placed Into specially designed transportation boxes that were then carried to a central collection point. From there a helicopter, landed by WWF-SA could fly them, in a mere three minutes, to the mainland where trm ks trans|x>rted them on a 14 hour-|ournc\ to a release site about 900 km (500 miles) away at Port Elizabeth. The clean waters at Algoa Bay. arc an Ideal place from which the released birds could swim back, a journey which should take them a cou-p)e of weeks, enough time, it was ho|x*d. to enable the threat ol further oiling to be removed
Three ol the penguins that
were released in Algoa Bay ha been tagged with small ruck sack-ilke satellite transmitter: Data from penguins Peter Pamela and Percy will reve; how rapidly the birds can be o pected to swim back to the: breeding colonies on Scutl /Xfrica's West Coast. Thei movements have been contint ally updated by scientists on th. website of the Avian Demogrt phy Unit at the University < Cape T o w | (http://www.uct ac zal enablln the public to follow the 1 progress as they make their wr 1 to their island homes. Peter 11 | lead penguin released on Jut 1 30. covered the first 150 kik I metres in six days. Like the oil seafarers. Peter and the other 1 are facing perils such as Gre.l White sharks I
The rescue has only bee I made possible through the genl erosltv of people who gave til time and offered resourceil Twenty thousand penguins wig cat 16 tonnes of fish each da] and each helicopter flight ain truck hire Is an expense The f l md reckoning will run int 1 millions of US dollars 1
It Is during emergencies likl this ihat WWF can make a de] terence. There are no centnl funds to draw on and onll promises of compensation fro ■ the boat's insurers. Its is on] through the volunteers an] commercial sponsors who ha'] generously supported tins ope ■ atkm that the African pcnguiiB have a ( hance of a future)