How To Protect The Ocean
SUFB 103: African Penguin Profile
Penguins are known for being around ice in the Antarctic, but the African Penguin is known for living in South Africa, a tropical environment. The penguin is actually considered endangered because people keep taking something that is vital to their reproduction and pretty much gross when you think about what people are taking. Take a listen to find out what that is.
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Show Notes:
http://www.speakupforblue.com/session103
Welcome to the speaker for blue podcast session one zero three Everybody we are going to be talking about a species that we don't normally hear about In the news or anything like that. We're going to talk about the african penguin and I wanted to talk about this because Tomorrow I'm doing an interview with this wonderful woman Named Esther overbeak. She is a great white or she works for ocean research and has done a lot of great right Work conservation work in South Africa and she does part of her work with penguin She's volunteers with the penguin sanctuary all about the african penguins So I decided you know what since we're talking about south africa tomorrow Let's talk about South Africa today with the african penguin so stay tuned for this episode of the speaker for blue podcast Welcome to the speak up for blue podcast helping you get involved in ocean conservation and now here's your host He just discovered periscope and might be slightly addicted Andrew luen Hey everybody welcome back to another exciting episode of the speak up for blue podcast your voice for the ocean I am your host Andrew luen founder speak up for blue calm Marine ecologist and self-proclaimed ocean predator and I almost messed up that intro wow I've been doing for so long 103 episodes. I almost messed up that intro anyway. I'm glad to have you guys here Today we're good species Tuesday So I always love species Tuesday because I get to look up a species that I don't really know much about Or I haven't done a lot of work with in the past and I get to talk about it on this podcast So what I usually do is I just look up resources and sometimes I just read off the webpage or a resource And I say hey, this is what it's all about if you have any questions Just let me know the reason why I chose the african penguin today as a species profile is because one We don't really hear about penguins that much when we talk about ocean conservation and they are a big part of the ocean They have a lot of their their feeding they swim all that has to do with the ocean It's integral to their life history So we need to talk about and this african penguin is actually endangered on the IUCN red list So it's important that we talk about the african penguin to really raise awareness of what's going on and why They're decreasing so much or why they're considered in danger But before we do before we go off and talk about penguins. I want to thank our patreon supporters Claire and chris jefford dr. Judith Weiss and Ron and Judy. Thank you very much for continually supporting this podcast supporting ocean conservation in allowing us to reach out to the podcast community the people who listen to podcast all over the world and Listen to the ocean conservation message that we're saying raising awareness of the ocean issues Allowing us to help people implement some solutions and it's just wonderful and before we get to that episode I wanted to give a shout out to Michael bear who actually recorded a little snippet of Why he likes the podcast I'm gonna play it in just a minute, but we do this through this technology It's awesome. It's called speak pipe And if you go to www.speakupforblue.com Forge slash connect you can actually talk to us or leave us a message through your internet through your computer and tell us Why you love listening to the speak up for blue podcast? And that's what Michael's done. So here is his recording. Hi, this is Michael bear citizen science project director for ocean sanctuaries I Wanted to add my opinion here today and emphasize how critical Andrews speak up for the blue podcasts are In recent years the ocean has been undergoing drastic changes and Most of them are not good Due to climate change overfishing Plastic pollution and a cinefication to name only a few we find the oceans are in crisis Andrews podcasts Which interview those who are able to shape and influence public opinion and policy are Critical to educational efforts to spread the word about what is happening in the oceans today. I Would like to commend Andrew on what a tremendous job. He has done with these podcasts and I encourage all of you to listen to them and learn from those who are knowledgeable about the oceans and Who can help educate the public on how we can turn around the situation before it is too late? Thank you So thank you, Michael. I really appreciate you Talking about the speaker for blue and allowing us to Continually tell our message Michael is a citizen scientist a coordinator actually who coordinates the seven-gill shark citizen science project over in sand or over in yeah, San Diego La Hoya and There's a big diver community that likes to monitor sightings of seven-gill sharks and They do a great job out that they have an app out. They're really monitoring they talk about it They have groups about citizen science Talking about what they can do. They've got protocols and everything like that. It's just amazing. They're trying to use cameras You can listen to that episode And I will put a link into there to help support Michael bear because he is awesome in what he does He's not a scientist So just goes to show that you don't need to be a scientist and we're gonna talk about this tomorrow to be into marine Conservation you can do that by if you're a diver or you just love the water and you have a passion to protect species and protect The ocean you can do that. So anyway, thank you very Michael. I really appreciate your support and let's get on with the show Continues, so let's talk about the conservation message, right? Let's talk about African penguins So I went on this guy and actually found a guy's called animal fact guide calm And I just think it's kind of great. It has a whole thing a whole profile on the African penguins So the species name is Feniscus Demersis is the Latin name So it talks a lot about penguins and when we talk about when we think about penguins we think about penguins in cold and ice This penguin is actually found in the warmth of South Africa, which is not where you actually normally find them They're also called they have a particular good nickname. I like it. It's called the jackass penguin Because they make donkey-like brain sounds to communicate. So I just so this is Definitely a jackass penguin. I love that. I love that name and how you so many times you can use that and get away with it Anyway, it could dive underwater up to two and a half minutes trying to catch small fish such as anchovies and sardines They may also catch squid and crustaceans. So as you know from penguins, they're pretty good swimmers They're very they're built in a very aerodynamics shape They can move through the water very quickly. They're small. They're fast. They're quick You know fast in terms of speed but quick in terms they can really move they're very agile in the water So they're they're made for the water these penguins average about two feet tall and weigh up to eight pounds They're shorter tails and flipper-like wings also help that help navigate help them navigate in the water while their web feet help propel them So they got kind of that typical penguin look and we're gonna put a picture up of this penguin on the on the blog post So if you go to speak up for blue.com forward slash session 103, you're gonna see a picture of them They're kind of nice. They've kind of got a white and black head There's a specific pattern of white stripe on their head. It's really cool that I'm looking at right now. So They live in a warm area, but they also dive in pretty cold water So to keep dry and insulated from the cold water the african penguins have covered are covered in dense waterproof feathers These feathers are white on the belly and black on the back Which aids in camouflage their way belly will blend with the light when the predators look up at them from below and their black Backs meld into the darker seas when predators look down from them from above. So think about it We talked about this a few weeks ago with the great white The great white is actually on the top of their of their I guess on their back on their dorsal dorsal part of their of their bodies They're gray sometimes even really dark almost black They've been described and on the bellies. They're white So when people look down from say from a boat, you can't see or say you're on the surface You can't see them. It's hard very hard difficult to see them because they've melded in with the surface When you look up say you're below them Either you're a seal or maybe a penguin and their food and you look up in their white And so they meld in they blend in with the light so you can it's it's hard to see So that's exactly what the African penguin has the same thing And so it's important for them for camouflage so that they can survive right for survival Especially in a harsh area with lots of sharks lots of lots of fish and lots of birds that could eat them as well The African penguins breed with their colonies. They do not travel to give birth. The penguins nest in burrows They dig out into their of their own excrement called guano. That's lovely Jackass penguins That nest in their own feces wonderful or sometimes in areas under boulders or brushes Recent removal of the guano for fertilizer from people What has forced the penguins to change their habits and nest primarily under bushes and boulders their nest protect eggs chicks and chicks from the sun From the predators like cats and seagulls Eggs are laid in pairs and both parents help incubate them Both parents also feed the newly-born chicks after two to four years the chicks will mature and lay their own eggs Like I said before the conservation status of these species They are on the IUCN red list and they're considered endangered And it's mostly because of the removal of their guano nests And and so I guess people are using this guano because it's high in in nutrients for In minerals for fertilizer However, if you take away this these nests you're taking away the reproductive Habits and that could be very difficult for someone to actually you know a species to actually procreate Especially a species that lives between you know 10 and 15 years sometimes underneath that So it's a long live species. It has difficulty Reproducing because of human pressures as usual so it's now considered endangered and we need protection from this so There is on this on this actually site there is actually a place where you can there's a south african foundation for the conservation of coastal birds That you can actually go and either donate volunteer or adopt a penguin So we're going to put that link on the blog post and I think that'll be a great little Snip it for there and so to do some more action But that's it for our profile of the the penguin. They're really cute little guys They're kind of fun to look at it's kind of interesting to see a penguin that's you know primarily in South africa or the southern tip of africa and and I just think it's interesting. I think penguins are interesting. They're an interesting bird Who can swim really really well And get most of their food from you know from the ocean so we need to you know These are cute little guys iconic species for sure They're endangered and it could be because of pressures because of fertilizer for god's sake So we need to really this is something that can be really helped. It's not something Where you know where it's difficult to help this is really easy for us to do something about it So, uh, yeah, that's the african penguin. That's it for today's episode. I really appreciate it Again, if you want to connect with us you can go over to www.speakupforblue.com/connect And you can actually leave a voice message for us through your internet Hopefully your mics good or anything like that, but we'll work with whatever if you have a question for me About the podcast that you want to hear on the podcast. Please do go to that to that site So speak up for blue dot com force last connect Also, if you want to support the ocean conservation and our message you can do so by speak going to speak up for blue dot com forward slash patreon P-a-t-r-e-o-n and that will help us continue on and reach our audience in very different places in the podcast sphere And of course all our notes all our show notes are on speakerforblue.com forward slash session 103 And I thank you for listening for the speaker for blue podcast because that's what you've been listening to I am your host, Andrew luen happy species Tuesday and happy conservation. I'll talk to you tomorrow [Music]