The Penguins Of Boulders Beach

It's hard to believe when you visit boulders beach and see thousands of these little tuxedo-ed birds that they are on the endangered wildlife list but with many predators both on land and in the sea and with oil spills and pollutants from ships their numbers have sadly, dramatically declined.

Spending the day with these enchanting, comical little birds has to be way up on any wildlife lovers list as It certainly was on mine. Their large black feet, their awkward waddling walk and wobbly heads all adds to their magnetic charm. They allow you to approach them here and seem as curious about you as you are about them. What a truly amazing experience to be sat on a rock talking to these cute little aquatic flightless birds. They don't understand me of course but tilt their heads from side to side as I speak in a gentle low voice as if they are trying to understand. 

We leave the beach to check into our accommodation and were delighted to find we had our own personal penguin nesting right outside our room. My only concern is that we won't get any sleep, these penguins are called Jackass as they bray like a donkey and we had an early start and a really long drive to embark upon the next day.

Our nesting penguin

I decided to call him Percy and sat on our step talking to him. I felt so sorry for him just having to sit on his eggs, not able to waddle around or swim or eat. He didn't even seem to have a partner around like the others we had seen at the beach but I feel sure she is not too far away. I must have sat with him for about an hour and in that time he sat up, he lay down, he pushed his eggs around and re shuffled himself onto them. It was as if the poor thing could not get comfortable, life certainly wasn't easy for a penguin during nesting season. 

We returned to the beach later that day, the tourists were all gone and it was just us and the Penguins but not just penguins Dassies! These little animals that look like large Guinea Pigs with goofy front teeth are also known as the Rock Hyrax. They are apparently the closest living relative of the modern day elephant but I couldn't for the life of me see how. 

We had searched for these little animals, on table mountain, We had even enquired as to where we could find them but apparently it will still too cold for them there. I had been so disappointed but here they were in abundance, a whole colony of them. I was so thrilled to be watching them chase each other over rocks, mothers and babies slowly emerged from the undergrowth whilst some just sat munching the many plants that grow here. What an absolutely wonderful way to spend the evening.

When we returned I sat with Percy again, he tilted his head as I sat down, then stood up and looked down at his eggs. To my utter disbelief he started waddling away from them. I couldn't believe my eyes, I knew there was a cat nearby and I felt myself searching and watching for any danger, I felt so protective of the eggs, even though he wasn't far away a cat could easily steal away with one in a second. My heart raced as my eyes darted between Percy and his eggs,

Percy was only gone for a few seconds before he returned and I breathed a sigh of utter relief when he lay back down. Maybe he just needed to stretch his legs and if animal instincts are correct maybe he knew I would protect his eggs for those few seconds. I will always remember my moments Percy and as we left the following day, having had a good nights sleep, I wished him and his little chicks a healthy happy life, I hoped they would all live for many years in this amazing colony. My heart breaks at the thought that these wonderful little birds will all be extinct in the next 15 years as predicted. I sincerely hope NOT!

Douc's Adventures In Mexico

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