Bird - Jackass (African) Penguin - Namibian Maxi card with stamp 1997

• Postcard

   

• Picture / Image:  Jackass Penguin / Brillenpinguin / Manchot du Cap / Spheniscus demersus
• Publisher: World Wide Fund for Nature, 1986
• Postally used: no but has stamp affixed and cancelled to order
• Stamp:  Namibia 1997 issue 
• Postmark(s): Luderitz 1997
• Sent to:  n/a
• Notes / condition: 

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

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The African penguin (Spheniscus demersus), also known as the Cape penguin or South African penguin, is a species of penguin confined to southern African waters. Like all extant penguins, it is flightless, with a streamlined body and wings stiffened and flattened into flippers for a marine habitat. Adults weigh an average of 2.2–3.5 kg (4.9–7.7 lb) and are 60–70 cm (24–28 in) tall. The species has distinctive pink patches of skin above the eyes and a black facial mask. The body upperparts are black and sharply delineated from the white underparts, which are spotted and marked with a black band. The pink glands above their eyes help them with thermoregulation. To cope with changing temperatures, blood is sent to the glands to be cooled by the air.[2]

The African penguin is a pursuit diver, and feeds primarily on fish and squid. Once extremely numerous, the African penguin is declining rapidly due to a combination of several threats and is classified as endangered. It is a charismatic species and is popular with tourists. Other vernacular names of the species include black-footed penguin and jackass penguin, due to the species' loud, donkey-like bray,[3] although several related species of South American penguins produce the same sound. They can be found in South Africa, Namibia, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon and Mozambique.

The African penguin is only found on the south-western coast of Africa, living in colonies on 24 islands between Namibia and Algoa Bay, near Port Elizabeth, South Africa.[1] It is the only penguin species that breeds in Africa, and its presence gave name to the Penguin Islands.

Penguin with chicks, Boulders Beach, South Africa

Two colonies were established by penguins in the 1980s on the mainland near Cape Town, namely Boulders Beach near Simon's Town and Stony Point in Betty's Bay. Mainland colonies likely became possible only in recent times due to the reduction of predator numbers, although the Betty's Bay colony has been attacked by leopards.[9][10] The only other mainland colony is in Namibia, but it is not known when it was established.

Boulders Beach is a tourist attraction due to the beach, swimming and the penguins.[11][12] The penguins will allow people to approach them as close as a metre.

Breeding populations of African penguins are being kept in numerous zoos worldwide. No colonies are known outside the south-western coast of Africa, although vagrants (mostly juveniles) may occasionally be sighted beyond the normal range.

Population

Roughly 4 million African penguins existed at the beginning of the 19th century. Of the 1.5 million African penguins estimated in 1910, only some 10% remained at the end of the 20th century. African penguin populations, which breed in Namibia and South Africa, have declined by 95 percent since pre-industrial times.[13]

Today, their breeding is largely restricted to 24 islands from Namibia to Algoa Bay, South Africa,[14] with the Boulders Beach colony being an exception to this rule.

The total population fell to approximately 150,000–180,000 in 2000.[15][16] Of those, 56,000 belonged to the Dassen Island colony and 14,000 to the Robben Island colony.[17] The colony at Dyer Island in South Africa fell from 46,000 in the early 1970s to 3,000 in 2008.[18]

In 2008, 5,000 breeding pairs were estimated to live in Namibia.

In 2010, the total African penguin population was estimated at 55,000. At the rate of decline seen from 2000 to 2010, the African penguin is expected to be extinct in the wild by 2026.[19]

In 2012, about 18,700 breeding pairs were estimated to live in South Africa, with the majority on St. Croix Island in Algoa Bay.[1][20]

The total breeding population across both South Africa and Namibia fell to a historic low of about 20,850 pairs in 2019.[21]