Dyer Island is a 20 hectare (49.4 acre) Nature Reserve island found 4.7 kilometers off Danger Point. The island surface is filled with pebbles, very little sand, some mixed vegetation and exotic weeds. The coastline of the island is rugged with some low rocky areas spreading inland.
Management Authority: CapeNature
Population: Currently 1,069 African Penguin breeding pairs are found on Dyer Island (Based on 2021 Census).
Other Notable Species on the Island: Leach’s Storm Petrel (Oceanodroma leucorhoa), Roseate Tern (Sterna dougallii), White-breasted Cormorant (Phalacrocorax lucidus), Bank Cormorant (Phalacrocorax neglectus), Crowned Cormorant (Microcarbo coronatuscape), Hartlaub’s Gull (Chroicocephalus hartlaubii), Sandwich Tern (Thalasseus sandvicensis), Swift Tern (Thalasseus bergii), Common Tern (Sterna hirundo), Antarctic Tern (Sterna vittata), African Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus moquini), Great White Sharks (Carcharodon carcharias)
African Penguins (Spheniscus demersus)
- Lifespan: 20 years
- Conservation status: Endangered
- Population Trend: Decreasing
- Prey/diet: Anchovy, sardines, bearded goby (in Namibia), horse mackerel, juvenile hake, redeye, and less commonly cephalopods and crustaceans
African Penguin Chick at SANCCOB.
Photo source: SANCCOB, https://sanccob.co.za/projects/chick-bolstering-project/
Dyer Island Colony Map
African Penguin
population trends:
African Penguin Conservation Status:
Endangered
2022 Quarter 4
Update
African Penguin chicks huddled in a corner.
Photo source: SANCCOB, https://sanccob.co.za/projects/chick-bolstering-project/
In November, SANCCOB (Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds) admitted over 200 Penguin chicks and has continued to rehabilitate and release penguins.
We have received word from the Cape Town facility that some African Penguins tested positive for the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), there is no cure for the Avian Influenza. Unfortunately, the three penguins that tested positive were humanely euthanized. SANCCOB has been placed under quarantine until further notice in effort to minimize the spread of the virus within the facility.
SANCCOB continues to accept abandoned penguins at their off-site quarantine facility. All birds cared for at SANCCOB are being closely observed and monitored for signs of HPAI. The situation has called for additional pathology testing which can cost $60 USD/ 58 EUR/ 1,000 ZAR per bird.
Your support of the Chick Bolstering Project is needed now more than ever. Thank you for choosing to be involved in this initiative.
2023 Quarter 1
Update
Coming soon.
