Researchers in South
Africa used tape and glue to attach a transmitter the size of a
matchbox to a 10-week-old African penguin.
The six-pound bird, named Richie, will be given a week to get used to swimming
in a pool with the one ounce device before he's released into the ocean from
the southern tip of Africa.
The first penguin in the project was released last month, and in all, five are
to be released over a few months.
The African penguin, endearingly awkward on land and a gracefully efficient
hunter in the water, is found only in southern Africa.
It also is known as the jackass penguin because of its braying call.
Tourists from around the world who have seen African penguins in a colony near
Cape Town may not realise just how rare sightings are becoming.
The numbers of African penguins have plummeted from up to 4 million in the
early 1900s to 60,000 as of the last census in 2010, said Venessa Strauss of
the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds. The
foundation has raised the penguins being used in the study.
Humans are generally accepted to have caused the drastic decrease, collecting
penguin eggs for food until the 1960s.
The harvesting of penguin guano for fertiliser stripped a hard layer of the
substance in which adult birds had burrowed to create nests safe from
predators and the sun. More recently, a new threat came with oil spills and
commercial fishing's competition for the anchovies and sardines on which
penguins feed.
Richard Sherley of the University of Cape Town said his team is in the very
early stages of a long and complex process.
They hope tracking the young penguins will answer questions about how early
experiences influence the choice of breeding colonies.
"Not so much is known about the early life of African penguins,"
said Mr Sherley.
Researchers have already gathered surprising data from the first bird, Lucy,
about how far a young bird is able to swim - an average of 28 miles a day.
Using special glue and tape to affix tracking devices is standard procedure,
and scientists expect the device to stay on long enough to give them good
information.
Once scientists know more about the birds' behaviour, they will be able to
choose a sight for a breeding colony that will suit them, and that will be
protected and close to abundant stocks of food. Long-term plans include
setting up a hatchery.
