An African Penguin sand art installation was commissioned last week by BirdLife SA and the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds to ‘highlight the plight facing the African Penguin’.The 20 penguins were built by Cape Town sand sculptor Innocent Zungu on Big Bay Beach in Bloubergstrand from Friday, 28 June to Monday, 1 July.
This sand art installation also served to mark World Seabird Day on Wednesday, 3 July, as a ‘stark reminder’ that while the penguins haven’t gone extinct yet, they ‘could be gone tomorrow’.‘ are made out of sand to symbolise that are disappearing. They’re here today, gone tomorrow unless we do something about it,’ said Dr David Roberts, SANCCOB clinical veterinarian.
‘These sand sculptures will slowly be eroded by the sea showing how fragile the Penguin population is,’ Roberts added. The African Penguin’s numbers have declined by 99% in the past 120 years, prompting scientists to believe that by 2035, the African Penguin species will be extinct in the wild.