Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning
- (a) What progress has been made to date in the implementation of the De Hoop penguin colony, (b) what specific milestones have been achieved since the project's inception, and (c) what are the key challenges encountered thus far;
(2) (a) (i) what is the projected timeline for the next phases of the project and (ii) are there any anticipated delays or risks to the continued implementation of the project, (b)(i) what funding has been allocated to the project from provincial or national government sources and (ii) how is this funding being spent and (c) (i) how will the success of the De Hoop penguin colony be measured and (ii) what indicators are in place to monitor progress and ensure the long-term viability of the colony?
(1) (a) Since project work commenced on site in October 2018 (a collaborative effort between BirdLife-SA, CapeNature and SANCCOB), establishment of the colony has entailed the construction of a predator-proof fence to protect the penguins from naturally occurring predators. Measures to attract penguins, namely penguin decoys (models) and a speaker playing penguin calls, were installed. Over 200 hand-reared juvenile penguins were released at the colony since 2021. Monitoring equipment in the form of CCTV cameras to monitor the fence and penguin breeding area as well as a penguin microchip reader were installed to monitor colony establishment.
Adult African Penguins (wild birds that hadn't been released) arrived in June 2022 and one pair bred that year. Four pairs bred in 2023 and one pair in 2024.
(b) The following milestones were achieved since inception of the project:
- November 2018 - Fence construction completed.
- June 2021- First juvenile hand-reared penguins released.
- June 2022 - First adults seen at the colony.
- October 2022 - Two chicks seen.
- September 2023 - Six chicks raised in the 2023 breeding season
(c) One of the biggest challenges is the maintenance and repair of the fence, noting its susceptibility to rust and damage as a result of exposure to the damp coastal environment and recent storm events, the most severe storm in September 2023 where very high swell damaged over 50% of the fence. While the fence was repaired rapidly, extreme weather events are an ongoing threat to the infrastructure at the colony.
The second challenge is to keep terrestrial predators out of the fenced area. A predation event, leading to the loss of 11 penguins in March 2024, led to the fence being reinforced, with ongoing monitoring and surveillance required. The colony is remote, requiring a substantial amount of driving time to reach it.
(2) (a) (i) May 2025 to June 2026.
This phase of the project aims to construct an additional fence around the colony. This fence will be further away from the sea to limit damage during extreme storm events. It will also be constructed in a way that requires less maintenance and will be more robust to prevent honey badgers, specifically, from accessing the colony. As this will require environmental authorisation, there will be some procedural delays as this process is followed.
There is also planning underway to enable a more regular human presence, likely in the form of rangers to respond rapidly to potential threats. The timeline for this is unclear as accommodation needs to be provided and funding found for the employment of staff. It will likely take place in the next two years.
The success of the project ultimately depends on the penguins continuing to use the site in greater numbers. Timelines related to penguin activities are very hard to predict.
(ii) The financial sustainability of the project is at risk if intensive interventions continue to be required to manage and protect the colony. Most of the project is donor funded through BirdLife-SA. In the short term, funding for general maintenance, monitoring and the project lead was secured until 2029. Some funds were secured for the construction of the second fence, although the full costs are unknown at this time. Approvals (CapeNature and environmental authorisation) for the second fence is expected to take some time.
(b) (i) Provincial funding is allocated to CapeNature for the overall management of the De Hoop Nature Reserve. The reserve receives an allocation of R9 107 420.00. This is for both operations and tourism on the reserve.
Birdlife-SA funded the fence.
(ii) Funds are spent on the management of the De Hoop Nature Reserve and the adjacent Marine Protected Area, which incorporates oversight, monitoring and surveillance of the colony.
Specifically, as it relates to the colony, funds are spent on transport, roads and fence maintenance, and invasive alien plant clearing in prioritised areas. On average, CapeNature employees visit the colony every second week, the distance to the colony is a round trip of approximately 106 km.
(c) (i) The main measure of success will be the number of African Penguin pairs breeding at the colony. Secondary (and linked) measures are the breeding success of the penguins and the prevention of any terrestrial predators from accessing the colony.
(ii) Population numbers, resightings, number of breeding pairs and breeding success are the main indicators of colony establishment and health.
Scheduled penguin monitoring occurs in-person and remotely via camera and microchip readers at the colony. At this stage of the project, to reduce disturbance, the penguin monitoring entails counts of adults, juveniles and chicks, if present.
Predator risk surveillance occurs remotely via CCTV cameras placed along the fence and records are kept of all predators detected. An AI system classifies the footage to provide real-time alerts when predators are detected. A network of camera traps set up further from the colony also monitors the general predator abundance (and presence of other non-predatory animals) in the vicinity of the colony. The presence of individually identified Cape leopards is also monitored.
The long-term viability of the colony will primarily depend on the preference of African Penguin to return to the site and management striving for zero predation. The monitoring of the predators in the vicinity of the colony provides a useful indicator of predator activity in the area. The plans in place to construct a second fence and ultimately have a ranger present will increase the effectiveness of protecting the penguin colony from predators.
A management plan is in place for the penguin colony and reports are made to an advisory committee that oversees project activities. Evaluations of the progress of the project are built into the management plan to ensure the colony is managed adaptively.
Additional note:
This is a BirdLife-SA led project carried out at De Hoop Nature Reserve with CapeNature’s support. BirdLife-SA adheres to the legislative requirements through approved research permits.
BirdLife-SA has a website with information that may also be useful: https://www.birdlife.org.za/what-we-do/seabird-conservation/what-we-do/coastal-seabird-conservation/creating-penguin-colonies-2/(link is external)
