African penguin.file photo
Ratels have wreaked havoc on the African penguin colony at the newly established De Hoop Nature Reserve in the Western Cape, killing 11 endangered seabirds at once.
Late last month, seabird conservationists Christina Hagen and Katta Rudinia discovered 11 dead African penguins in the Overberg Nature Reserve during a routine inspection of the colony, all killed by a single ratel. I made a shocking discovery.
“It was terrible,” Hagen, Pamela Isdell Fellow and Project Leader for Penguin Conservation at BirdLife South Africa, recalled of the harrowing discovery. “At first I was in shock and couldn't believe it. When I found the first one I couldn't believe what was going on, but then I thought, 'Oh, that's a little weird,' and I found more and more. I continued. It took me a while to realize what had happened. ”
Predation by ratels was “unexpected” as leopards and caracals were thought to be the colony's main predators of concern. Hagen had previously discovered Ratel in the project's camera traps.
“Of course we knew they existed, but we didn't think they were as dangerous to penguins as they actually turned out to be.”
serial murder
Ratel is “notoriously ingenious and determined” and appears to have slipped through a fence built to keep predators away from the cape.
“As I understand it, there are reports of leopards getting into sheep kraals and killing them like it's a spree,” Hagen said.
Penguins are ignorant of land-based predators.
“They were in a nest, so they would have gone into the nest instead of running away to sea. Ratel probably went into a sort of frenzy, because it seemed like he only ate one and killed the rest. is.”
Known for preying on birds, reptiles, and small mammals, the ratel is not only fond of honeycombs, as its name suggests. They are also known to kill more than they can eat when they encounter prey that they cannot escape or are not used to being predators (such as domestic chickens or, in this case, penguins).
It is not clear exactly how the ratel got into the colony area, but the project team has already begun to improve fencing in potentially vulnerable areas.
“We installed more electric fencing towards the edge of the fence. Of course you have to stop at some point along the waterfront, and we had a problem with high waves, so we reinforced that section.” Hagen said.
“We're also reinforcing certain areas where Dassey is damaging the fence, so that's going to continue for some time to come.”
In the long term, she and her colleagues are gathering advice and consulting experts on ratel behavior and predator management.
“Whether or not to build a second fence, all that kind of thing. What other deterrents can we use against ratels, like light or scent? We will introduce it.”
Meanwhile, the speakers used to play African penguin calls and attract penguins to the site are not working. “We don't want to attract more penguins to the colony if there is a possibility of predators entering.”
Main site
Conservationists remain steadfast in their efforts to protect the iconic seabird.
“We hope that this is a one-off and that we learn from it and take better measures to protect them. We know that we want to establish a. So we expect more to happen,” Hagen added.
Since 2018, BirdLife South Africa, Cape Nature and the South African Coastal Bird Conservation Foundation (Sancob) have been working to rebuild a penguin colony in De Hoop.
The choice of location is important as it provides a sufficient supply of fish for the penguins.
“Breeding penguins do not easily colonize mainland sites because they are susceptible to predation from terrestrial animals such as leopards, caracals, and now ratels,” they said.
To reduce this risk, the fence was designed and constructed in consultation with experts.
Behavior and biology of mammalian predators. Penguins were attracted to the site over several years using decoys and audio speakers playing penguin sounds. More than 200 hand-raised baby penguins were released into a colony.
In 2022, wild penguins arrived on the scene and one pair successfully bred. The following year, this pair increased to four pairs, and six chicks were raised between them. Unfortunately, this penguin's activity attracts the attention of Ratel, who slips through the fence and kills the 11 penguins that were in the colony at the time.
“There are more, but I've only seen four since then,” Hagen added.
big setback
The loss of the penguins is a “major setback” for the establishment of the colony, but it is not unprecedented given how other African penguin colonies on the mainland have started, the conservation group said in a statement. The Stony Point colony in Betty's Bay experienced several predation incidents of similar magnitude when penguins began to naturally colonize the area in the 1980s, and is now South Africa's third largest penguin colony. It has become a colony.
BirdLife South Africa's seabird conservation program manager Alistair McInnes said: “We are fully committed to making this a safe breeding ground for African penguins.” “We have shown that it is possible to attract penguins to a location and start breeding. We are confident that if improved fencing and other measures are taken, more penguins will come. ”
More than 200 hand-raised penguins were released at Sancob.
“Some of these birds may also return to the colony several years later when they are ready to breed,” said Rudinia, research manager at Sancob. “We had already started seeing a few young birds arriving at the colony, likely looking for a breeding site.
African penguin numbers are at an all-time low and continue to decline. The population has decreased from about 1 million couples 100 years ago to about 9,900 couples today.
“Cape Nature, BirdLife South Africa, Sancob and many other organizations are working hard to protect this species,” said Cape Nature chief executive Ashley Naidoo. “We need to do everything we can to ensure their long-term survival, and creating new colonies can greatly contribute to that effort.”