Black-footed penguin

Black-footed penguin

Scientific name: Spheniscus demersus
Situation in the wild: Endangered
At the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo: A breeding group
The Black-footed penguin is also known by the name Jackass penguin because of its Donkey-like braying calls or by the name African penguin. The habitat and distribution area of the Black-footed penguin are the beaches of South Africa in the areas affected by the flow of cold sea current called the Banguela current. Penguins in general are found only in areas determined primarily by streams of cold water, rich in food, and not by the climate on land. Penguins eat mostly fish but also squid and crustaceans. To hunt for their food at sea have developed a remarkable ability for long-distance swimming and diving to depths of up to 130 meters! Although penguins are birds, they spend much of their time out at sea. They differ significantly from other birds in several aspects: their bones are heavy and full (as opposed to flying birds that have hollow bones and light-weight limbs), their feet are used for navigation and their wings are not used for flying, but instead – for swimming and diving – you may say that penguins "FLY" in water!.
Penguins will swim large distances away from the coast in search for food - sometimes up to tens or even hundreds of miles on each journey. Bachelors in the group may even remain at sea for several months in a row!
Penguins are a monogamous species, attaching to one partner for life. The reproductive cycle of the penguins is interesting: the female will lay one egg and the couple will divide the incubation duty between them. After about 40 days, the chick will hatch, covered in plumage and eyes open. Parents also divide the daily care of their chick between them, feeding it and looking after it. This will take 70-100 days. Interestingly, some species of Penguin set up a kind of "kindergarten", and share the caretaking of the chicks communally. After the chick grows, it will leave its parents and go to spend a full year in open sea. After a year, it will return to land, replacing its feathers with adult ones and will start its life as an adult penguin.
Penguin flocks may include tens of thousands of individuals. Breeding and raising the chicks takes place on land. Tropical species (those that habituate areas close to the equator), such as the Black-footed penguin nest in burrows that they dig in the ground, under shrubs or rock eggs and this way provide protection from the burning sun.
Although the last Penguin species to become extinct (in the 17th century), currently, most Penguin populations are vulnerable. Many species are now threatened by extinction, including the Black-footed penguin and three species are critically endangered. Generally, Penguin populations are exposed to many threats such as oil spills, lack of food due to over-fishing, penetration of new predators brought in by humans, egg collection, guano (Penguin droppings) mining – used as soil fertilizer . One of the main threats imposed on Penguins at the beginning of last century has been penguin collection to be displayed in zoos. Today, zoos hold many captive breeding cores, intended to be backup groups for wild populations. Now, zoos are used as a means for helping protect the penguins in the wild, generation information and raising public awareness for conservation issues, conducting research, breeding penguins and participating in active wildlife conservation activities. The Jerusalem Biblical Zoo has contributed in the past and continues to contribute in actions to save the Penguins in the wild, directly and indirectly. In 2000 the Zoo participated in an international rescue operation of a large population of Black-footed penguin. A large oil spill was caused by the sinking of an oil tanker - "Treasure" in June 2000 near the shores of Cape-town, South Africa. The oil spill threatened the hundreds of thousands of penguins from the local population. Two staff members from the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo were sent to help save the penguins that were harmed. The team sent by the zoo directly handled close to 1000 chicks extracted in serious condition and those whose parents were also injured or unable to care of them.
The Penguins at the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo are all captive born and the original nucleus came from a zoo in the Netherlands. They are included in the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) Penguin program destined to preserve this species and we manage our breeding group under the coordination of this program. 
 

(Photo: Ruthie Shueler)