On World Ranger Day, celebrated every July 31, rangers who are dedicated to protecting our planet’s natural treasures and wildlife worldwide, are honored. One such ranger is Yandisa Cwecwe, who works tirelessly to preserve the endangered African penguins and seabirds on Robben Island.
Yandisa Cwecwe, a ranger with the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB), spends her days and nights meticulously caring for African penguins. With their population decreasing annually by 7.9%, the threat of extinction by 2035 looms large, making her work increasingly critical.
Cwecwe holds an MSc in Zoology (Marine Biology) from Walter Sisulu University. Her passion for animal life was kindled in her hometown of Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape. It was there, during her life sciences classes and a memorable field trip to a marine protected area along the Eastern Cape Wild Coast, that her interest in zoology flourished.
After graduating, she gained valuable experience as a research assistant intern in a Marine Conservation Genomics laboratory at Stellenbosch University. In 2021, she joined SANCCOB, initially working in the research department. Her passion for African penguins grew, leading her to apply for a ranger position when it became available.
As the only SANCCOB Penguin and Seabird Ranger on Robben Island, Cwecwe collaborates with other research teams to protect the island’s terrestrial and marine environments. Her daily routine includes morning field patrols to check for injured, sick, or oiled birds. During the breeding season, she monitors nests for eggs or chicks, ensuring they are not underweight or abandoned.
“Penguin food sources have diminished due to overfishing of sardines and anchovies. This forces penguin parents to travel long distances to find food, often leaving their chicks vulnerable to predators, bad weather, and starvation,” she said.
To combat these challenges, rescuing penguins is a key part of Cwecwe’s responsibilities. Injured or orphaned chicks are sent by boat to SANCCOB’s Chick Rearing Unit (CRU) in Table View. There, they are incubated, hatched, and hand-reared before being released back into the wild, a crucial effort to bolster the declining wild population.
In March, BirdLife South Africa and SANCCOB took legal action against the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment to establish no-catch zones around six breeding sites, protecting the penguins from commercial fishing vessels. The court date is set for October 22-24, 2024.
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SANCCOB works closely with conservation partners like CapeNature, the City of Cape Town, SANParks, and the Robben Island Museum. They employ eleven rangers at five critical African penguin breeding colonies across South Africa. In the Eastern Cape, rangers monitor seabirds on Bird Island in Algoa Bay, while in the Western Cape, they oversee Dassen Island, Robben Island, Stony Point, and Simon’s Town colonies. Each year, rangers bring 500 to 600 African penguin chicks and 300 to 400 eggs to SANCCOB, with numbers increasing by 256% over the last seven years.
Cwecwe emphasizes that becoming a ranger requires passion, dedication, and a willingness to work hard and get one’s hands dirty. “A ranger needs basic computer skills, the ability to collect and enter data, and to write well-formulated monthly reports,” she stated. For Cwecwe, the most rewarding part of her job is contributing to the preservation of our planet and helping save the African penguin and other seabirds.
She encourages aspiring rangers to work hard at school, follow their passion for animals, and be open to teamwork. “Becoming a ranger has been very rewarding for me, and I encourage anyone who wants to become a ranger to apply to SANCCOB today,” she said. African penguins and seabirds play crucial roles in their ecosystems. They are integral components of the marine food web, contributing to the balance of marine life.
These birds help regulate fish populations and recycle nutrients through their guano, which fertilizes marine and coastal ecosystems. Seabirds, including African penguins, serve as indicators of ocean health. Their populations reflect the state of marine environments, including the availability of fish, the presence of pollutants, and the impacts of climate change. Establishing and maintaining marine protected areas (MPAs) helps safeguard crucial habitats for breeding, feeding, and molting. MPAs limit human activities that can harm seabird populations.
As we celebrate World Ranger Day, wildlife conservation and the protection of our natural world are critical. African penguins and seabirds are vital to marine ecosystems and hold significant ecological, economic, and cultural value. Their conservation is imperative to maintaining the health of ocean environments and ensuring the survival of these unique species. Through protected areas, sustainable practices, pollution control, climate action, research, education, and rehabilitation efforts, we can safeguard the future of African penguins and seabirds for generations to come.
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