SANCCOB is hosting it’s 17th annual Penguin Festival on Saturday 5 October in Simon’s Town. The festival aims to celebrate and raise awareness of the endangered African penguins that are endemic to South Africa’s coast.
The festivities kick off once again with a public release of rehabilitated penguins at Seaforth Beach. The ‘box-tipping’ is a special event, as the animals waddle back into the wild for the first time since coming into SANCCOB’s care.
The official festival will be held at Simon’s Town School and will begin after the box-tipping. The school is walking distance from the beach, allowing visitors to marvel over the beauty of Simon’s Town.
The Annual Penguin Festival is a day out for the whole family. There will be rides for kids, the SANParks Honourary Rangers cooking up a borewors roll storm, exciting educational exhibits, a craft beer and wine area and much more.
Entrance is free, with access to the Kids Zone costing R50 per child. All proceeds on the day go toward SANCCOB’s year-round penguin and seabird conservation work.
According to SANCCOB, the latest census stats estimate that there are 20,700 breeding pairs of African penguins left on the African continent. This is an all-time low in numbers for this endangered species, which were once abundant, with a population count of around five million in the 1920s.
‘This annual event gives SANCCOB a platform to highlight the plight of the iconic African penguin species and educate the public on how to play their part in supporting our conservation efforts and those of our collaborators and exhibitors.’
‘Small changes in their lives such as recycling, saying no to single-use plastics and choosing sustainably harvested fish options can be the first steps taken to work with us,’ says Sharnay Adams, SANCCOB’s Education Supervisor.
Check out the video from a previous Penguin Festival below
Image: Getaway Gallery
