Alden Boon

Stony Point Nature Reserve, Betty’s Bay: Teeming with Jackasses (African Penguins)

28/02/2017

An odour of ammonia hits your olfactory senses the second you arrive at Stony Point Nature Reserve, Betty’s Bay in the Overberg. So overwhelmingly pungent, it travels to and almost envelops your taste buds. It emanates from the thriving colonies of African penguins, or jackass penguins, who are like sweaty hormonal jocks sardined in a small gym.

Home to one of Africa’s most successful jackass-penguin breeding colonies, the reserve sits on the site of an erstwhile whaling station.  A long rustic boardwalk cuts through the reserve, squeaking with every step you take. Groups of Oreos emerge from their burrows, waddle beneath the boardwalk and make for the rocky outcrops. Some rest themselves on rocks roofed with vegetation and dried twigs, gazing into the vistas. The multitudes of penguins seem to have a proclivity for lounging about. They also share the land with the endangered White-breasted, Bank, Crowned and Cape Cormorants. Perched on higher elevations, kelp gulls time their flights, hoping to swoop down on an unguarded penguin egg.

Stony Point Nature Reserve Betty's Bay | Penguins South Africa
Stony Point Nature Reserve Betty's Bay | Penguins South Africa
Stony Point Nature Reserve Betty's Bay | Penguins South Africa
Stony Point Nature Reserve Betty's Bay | South Africa
"Hello, is it me you're looking for?"
Stony Point Nature Reserve Betty's Bay | Penguins South Africa
Shades of pink: The pink gland, located above their eyes, help the penguins to cope with changing temperatures. During hotter seasons, the shade of pink is darkened as blood is sent to the glands and cooled by the surrounding air.
Stony Point Nature Reserve Betty's Bay | Penguins South Africa
Stony Point Nature Reserve Betty's Bay | Penguins South Africa
Stony Point Nature Reserve Betty's Bay | South Africa
Stony Point Nature Reserve Betty's Bay | South Africa

As for the unflattering moniker, the penguins only have their donkey-like brays to blame. Other distinctive features include short tails, webbed feet and flipper-like wings that enable them to navigate the water with finesse. They have an average lifespan of ten to fifteen years, and like their cormorant counterparts are on the brink of extinction: their number has dwindled over the years.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alden Boon
Alden Boon is a Quarter-finalist in PAGE International Screenwriting Awards. When he's not busy writing, he pretends he is Gandalf.