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Go inside a penguin rescue center with new 360 video
Endangered African penguins are threatened by human encroachment, predators, and a decrease in their favorite fish.
A distinct odor of dead fish, guano, and earthy sea lingers in the air. Loud braying punctuates conversations.
At the South African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) in Cape Town, the primary occupants are African penguins—as of mid-July, more than 100 of them. Native to the coast of South Africa and Namibia, African penguin numbers have declined precipitously in the last few decades, from 56,000 breeding pairs in 2001 to approximately 20,000 pairs today.
Guano harvesting for fertilizer, egg collection, and overfishing of their prey, among other threats, led to the species being declared endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature in 2010. SANCCOB helps give this plucky bird a boost through the
