A meaningful habitat ‘upgrade’ for the Penguins waddling around at Boulders!
Cape Town, South Africa (29 July 2026) – After celebrating a boost in African penguin numbers at Boulders Beach last month, there’s more positive news for the famous colony!
Their habitat is getting some extra care, with 1000 indigenous shrubs planted to help keep the coastline healthy for the birds.
South African National Parks (SANParks) and SANParks Honorary Rangers – Table Mountain Region have planted 1000 indigenous Tetragonia decumbens shrubs, better known as dune spinach or sea spinach, around the habitat of the Boulders colony.
The seeds were collected from Boulders itself before being grown at the Cape of Good Hope Nursery and replanted back at the colony.
Dune spinach does an important job by holding sand dunes together, stopping erosion, and making it easier for other indigenous plants to grow nearby. These are the conditions that penguins and other coastal wildlife that share the area need to thrive.
The planting forms part of SANParks’ ongoing work to restore and strengthen one of the most important African penguin breeding sites in the world.
Just last month, the annual penguin census at Boulders brought some welcome news, as it recorded 790 breeding pairs – 92 more than last year – with the colony now estimated to be home to around 2528 individual birds!
That said, African penguins are still critically endangered, with fewer than 10,000 breeding pairs remaining in the wild worldwide. Every healthy dune and restored patch of habitat helps to protect them!
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