BOULDER PENGUIN COLONY
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Observation of the Boulders penguin colony in Simon's Town, animals that swim at 7 km/h.
A ribbon of pearly sand appears between the granite boulders formed 540 million years ago. This is Foxy Beach, the heart of the Boulders Nature Reserve, now part of Cape Peninsula National Park. Walkways on stilts lead to the immediate vicinity of the beach where a society of 3,000 African penguins (African Penguins - Sphenicus demersus), a bird on the Red List of Threatened Species, lives. At the end of the 20th century, it was estimated that only 10% of the one and a half million African penguins recorded in 1910 remained! The colony of Boulders, the result of only two couples, is a spectacle in an extraordinary setting, between the ocean turning turquoise under the sun and the mastic grass of the coastal fynbos.
From the wooden pontoon fitted out as an observation bridge, you can observe them from a few meters away and follow their perpetual agitation. These animals, which swim at 7 km/h and can stay underwater for two minutes, have developed a special colour protection: their belly is white to avoid being spotted by predators swimming deeper and looking towards the clear water, while their back is black to escape the danger from above. Incredible, isn't it? For the African penguin, the breeding period begins in February; in September and October, the birds are less numerous on land because they seek their food at sea.
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