SANCCOB and Robben Island have teamed up to help care for the birds living on the island. Many find refuge on the island but some may need help at times.
The Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) and Robben Island Museum (RIM) collaborated to appoint a seabird ranger, based on Robben Island.
Andile Mdluli will monitor the health and well-being of seabirds on the Island, intervene if and when required. He will be responsible for the transfer of seabirds that are injured, sick, oiled or abandoned as chicks. The birds will be taken to SANCCOB for any treatment and rehabilitation they might need.
Robben Island is home to colonies of endangered African penguins, Bank cormorants and Cape cormorants, among other protected seabird species. The penguin colony can be seen pictured above.
“This kind of colony support by our organisation has been implemented at the Stony Point and Simon’s Town colonies. It is a methodology that has proven to be a successful approach to monitor seabird colonies and rescue those in need of our specialist intervention for rehabilitation before released back to the wild.” – Nicky Stander, SANCCOB Rehabilitation Manager.
Dedicated rangers are on the ground monitoring seabirds and reporting threats to management authorities and play a critical in SANCCOB’s proactive conservation work to save southern Africa’s seabirds from extinction.
“Conservation is essentially central to Robben Island Museum’s mandate as a museum. Although Robben Island was inscribed a World Heritage Site in 1999 under the category of cultural landscapes, fauna and flora form part of our valuable heritage assets and need to be prudently conserved and sustained at all times. We’re very excited about our collaboration with SANCOBB as it will bolster our efforts in managing the Island as an integrated resource,” says Morongoa Ramaboa of Robben Island Museum.
The island is managed by Robben Island Museum (RIM) as a living museum and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1999. It is also a protected nature conservation area and must balance stringent conservation requirements with Robben Island Museum’s mission of ensuring public access to the island’s cultural heritage.
Recently a massive clean-up took place on the island to help clear plastic and pollution from the beaches. The group avoided the area where the penguin colony live but the rest of the island was cleared of all litter.
Mdluli holds a formal qualification in Nature Conservation and has previously spent one year on Robben Island as a Nature Conservation intern. During this time he was introduced to many environmental themes, which included the conservation of seabirds and especially the African penguin. Mdluli developed an affinity to these birds and went on to work as a Penguin Monitor in Simon’s Town before joining the SANCCOB/RIM collaboration this year.
Mdluli’s appointment is a culmination of like-minded conservation organisations working in partnership to reverse the decline of coastal birds, some of which have been listed as endangered and threatened species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
This is great news for the bird life of the island.
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