The fight to save the African penguin | BBC News

now the African penguins on course to become extinct in the Wild by 2035 according to conservationists a group's taking the South African government to court over what they say is a failure to adequately protect the species the penguin population has reduced by 99% in the last century but Wildlife experts hope their legal action might still save the birds from South Africa here's Jenny Hill there's is a story of surviv Ral Clinging On in a hostile environment but every year there are fewer African penguins soon there may be none at all life on Africa's southern tip is precarious there are predators seals and gulls but the real enemy is human wrecking their habitat and taking their food so you can see this one near the water is quite skinny now conservationists are taking the South African government to court precious time left they say to save the Penguins if the current rates of decline persist into the near future we could see the extinction of the species within our lifetime by 2035 so this situation is extremely urgent so it's happens when they very um imated then you can start with fish or food after 24 hours hunger haunts the last remaining colonies only so much local shelters can do the birds need sardines and anies but the fishing industry wants them too South Africa is entering untested legal Waters fishermen are already banned from some areas conservationists want the courts to close off more in the harbors here Fury it'll cost workers War money and jobs and it won't help the Penguins we a fraction of the problem well there's predation seals sharks um we've got oil and gas um exploration noise pollution it's going to be a little bit bumpy but watching the case a man who's spent decades monitoring the wildlife here Wilfred manages one of the island colonies penguin numbers can still recover he believes but it's down to people now if Government fisheries and all the NOS um play their part I think they've got a good future we we we can we can overcome what what's happening at the moment and what if they can't agree then the Penguins will suffer you really get a sense of their vulnerability many of the Penguins in this Colony are protecting eggs they're waiting to raise their young and yet ultimately their fate lies in human hands the South African government won't yet comment on the case and legal action can take a long long time already too late some fear for Africa's Dying Breed Jenny Hill BBC News the Western Cape

Channel: BBC News

Views: 25,962

Keywords: bbc, bbc news, news, world news, breaking news, us news, world, america, usa, usa news, india news

Id: UrUVsLEIYRI

Length: 3min 10sec (190 seconds)

Published: Fri May 10 2024