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African Penguins 233

Figure­13.6­ African Penguin chicks socializing, showing wooly down on the left and birds molting into
mature contour feathers on the right

movements, and often wrigglier to handle. Chicks over 1.5 kg may be housed together in a small
enclosure, this allows for socializing and gives a larger area for movement (Figure 13.6). Burrows
may be placed in the pen for the chicks to retreat into.
Nomad matting (3M) is an ideal substrate to be used in an enclosure where larger chicks are
housed together; it is a combination of fine and course tufted loop fibers which absorb water and
guano, and minimize development of bumblefoot. These mats can easily be cleaned by hosing
them down with water.

­ Preparation­for Wild­Release

When penguin chicks lose their fluff, they can be housed outdoors with pool access in large groups.
Over the course of several weeks, the penguins are introduced to a progressive swimming sched-
ule, depending on their feather grading and overall physical health. Feather grading should be
performed weekly by force‐swimming the penguins for 10–20 minutes, then verifying the water-
proofing of their plumage in order to evaluate their progress and to group them with penguins at a
similar stage of the conditioning process. When the penguins are approved for other release crite-
ria (apparently healthy, good body condition, normal behaviour, waterproof plumage after swim-
ming for 60 minutes, and clear blood results), a more comprehensive feather grading should be
conducted after force‐swimming them for 60 minutes to ensure that only waterproof penguins are
released back to the wild. African Penguins that meet the release criteria are microchipped and
released during the morning, with good weather and a sea swell of no more then 8.2–9.8 ft.
(2.5–3 m), with a gentle breeze under 12.4 mph (20 km/h).

­ Acknowledgments

Thank you to the staff, interns, and volunteers at SANCCOB who contribute to the work of hand‐
rearing penguin chicks to release back into the wild. The African Penguin Chick Bolstering Project
is a collaboration between SANCCOB, Bristol Zoological Society, the Animal Demography Unit