Mel and Neal Volunteer in South Africa: Back to CT

Upon return to in Capetown we immediately headed to Sancob, a penguin rehabilitation centre. Melanie had organized a tour of the facility months before our arrival, and was keen on checking it out. The centre, like many rehab centres, is dependent on its volunteers. Although it has paid employees such as vets and rehabbers, the majority of the people there were volunteers. Volunteers came from all over the world, and the minimum stay is six weeks.

Most of the penguins found at Sancob are, wait for it…the African penguin. The ones that end up in the hands of Sancob are usually a result of a near fatal encounter with seals, or are found orphaned for any number of reasons. However, there are other seabirds at the facility, and interestingly another species of penguin: the rockhopper penguin. This penguin you might know as “Koby” from the animated movie “Surf’s Up” with the ear tufts. And, as you might remember from the movie these penguins are found in Antarctica. Right now you’re probably asking yourself the same question as Mel and I had: “how does a penguin from Antarctica get up to South Africa?” This is a very good question, and has an interesting, if not gruesome answer. We were told that these birds show up on African soil via Japanese fishing boats. What happens is the birds get caught up in the trawling nets that the Japanese fishing boats put out when fishing in the waters off of the islands close to Antarctica. When the birds are brought aboard the vessel the crew keep them alive so that they can eat them; apparently it’s a nice change from their regular meat diet of fish. However, not all of the rockhoppers are eaten, and rest onboard when the vessel arrives into the South African port. The South African wildlife does not allow for these animals to be let loose in their waters, so they are sent to Sancob to live out their lives. According to Sancob one of the rockhoppers “Rocky” has been with them for 18 years. I suppose not many boats are willing to take Rocky back to Antarctica on their way back to Japan.

The tour was fascinating.