SANCCOB is planning to do three webinars for bird lovers over the coming weeks, these are the ones you can sign up for at the moment.
South Africa (14 May 2020) – The Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB), shared an exciting announcement of something big happening soon.
The organisation promised to launch a series of webinars using Zoom and it is finally happening! The webinars will be about the organisation’s research, rehabilitation and care of African penguins. They will focus on all the aspects of their work with sea birds.
“With less than 20,000 breeding pairs of African penguins remaining in the wild, our conservation work and collaborations with like-minded partners are essential to reversing the decline of the species.
As a participant in our talks, you will become knowledgeable about where we are in our conservation efforts and what supports or threatens the African penguin species.”
Like most webinars, participants will listen to a talk and be given a chance to ask questions at the end. Currently, SANCCOB has three webinars planned and only 100 spots available in each one.
Upcoming Webinars
Wednesday, 20 May at 7 pm (GMT+2) — Climate change and the endangered African penguin: SANCCOB’s involvement in important management interventions (register here)
Presented by SANCCOB Research Manager, Dr Katta Ludynia
Summary: African penguins are endangered and are facing many threats, from lack of fish and changes in the distribution of prey to reduced breeding success and habitat loss. Climate change plays a vital role in many of these threats but is often not yet considered sufficiently. SANCCOB’s involvement in protecting the species ranges from hand-rearing abandoned penguin chicks to having rangers in the colonies and being involved in active habitat restoration, and the establishment of new breeding sites; all management interventions that endeavour to make the species more resilient to the effects of climate change.
Tuesday, 26 May at 4pm (GMT+2) — Hand-rearing African penguin chicks from egg incubation to release (register here)
Presented by SANCCOB Rehabilitation Manager, Romy Klusener
Summary: Since the opening of the Chick Rearing Unit in 2011, and the opening of the Nursery in 2014, SANCCOB has admitted and hand-reared over 7,000 African penguin chicks. During this presentation, Romy will take us through the process from incubation of rescued eggs, hand-rearing chicks to the release, and the importance of bolstering the wild African penguin population.
Wednesday, 3 June at 7 pm (GMT+2) —The African penguin: What went wrong and what is being done to prevent their extinction in the wild (register here)
Presented by Dr Lauren Waller, SANCCOB’s Leiden Conservation Fellow
Summary: The African penguin was estimated to number in the millions in the early 1900s. By 1956 their numbers had declined to about 300,000. It is estimated that there are now less than 19,000 breeding pairs in the wild, a population decline of over 95%. This talk will provide a summary of the species’ population trends; an overview of the threats they have and continue to face and what research and conservation actions are being undertaken by the numerous organisations working hard to save this species from the genuine threat of extinction in the wild.
For those unable to attend the webinars, SANCCOB will be doing a few Facebook Live sessions as well. Take a look at what can be expected below.
- Friday, 15 May at 4 pm (GMT+2): Nicky Stander, Preparedness and Response Manager offers a virtual tour of our Table View facility’s seabird hospital;
- Monday, 25 May: Angela Wilmot, Volunteer Coordinator, paints a picture of volunteer tasks and support we cannot do without;
- Friday, 29 May: Alex Rogers, Educator provides a child-friendly tour of our Table View centre.
You can find out more via the Facebook page here.
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