Group Resorts to Building Nests to Save African Penguins
The traditional breeding ground for African penguins has turned to a rocky moonscape, leaving the rapidly vanishing species confused when it comes time to lay their eggs. Humans caused the problem and now some people are trying to fix it.
Like they have for centuries, the penguins will return to Dyer Island off the southern tip of Africa to breed this year. When humans noticed the patter, they began to shovel and transport the penguin-poo-filled topsoil to the mainland to use as fertilizer, eventually scraping the island bare.
Wilfred Chivell of the Dyer Island Conservation Trust has spent his time the last couple months trying to reverse this problem in a rather unconventional way: he installed 800 fiberglass igloos on the island for the penguins to nest inside. Apparently so far they’re a huge hit and the penguins like to “decorate” the igloos with rocks and foliage before moving in.
