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Boulders Beach in Cape Town – the best place to see penguins in South Africa
Boulders Beach in Cape Town – the best place to see penguins in South Africa.
The African Penguin, Africa’s sole nesting penguin species, is found on the Cape Peninsula. Additionally, Boulder’s Beach on the Cape Peninsula is the greatest location to watch Cape Town’s renowned penguins.
Boulders Beach (Simon’s Town) in Cape Town is home to African penguins.
Despite being surrounded by residential areas, Boulders Beach is one of the best sites in the world to get up close and personal with these endangered species. It is located in a secluded cove between Cape Point and Simon’s Town.
Due to the increasing number of large birds that began to encroach on the well-kept lawns of the locals and indirectly strain their patience with the influx of tourists who came to witness the sight of penguins on the beach, Cape Nature took over the management of Boulders.
The first penguin immigrants landed at Foxy Beach, which is now walled off for the safety of both people and penguins. Several boardwalks have also been erected, making this a great place to get up close and personal with these hilarious creatures. When you see penguins up close, you get the impression that they are a little embarrassed by how cute they are, yet their grumpiness just makes them more charming as they go about their daily lives.
Boulders Beach is a short distance from Foxy Beach’s observation platforms and provides the unique opportunity to play in the water with penguins. It will always stick in your memory that these are untamed birds with razor-sharp beaks that may deliver a deadly bite, swimming in the pristine sea on a white sand beach during bright sunshine, WITH PENGUINS, and without an iceberg in sight!
Following a few basic guidelines may greatly reduce the likelihood of getting nipped because these birds are not aggressive. Because penguins are especially protective of their eggs, avoid approaching, feeding, or chasing them. If they are sitting on a nest, give them a wide birth.
In the wild, African Penguins prefer to nest on small offshore islands where they are less vulnerable to predators. They can be found from central Namibia to Port Elizabeth. With a black back to evade discovery from above while diving and a white belly to evade detection from below when swimming at the water’s surface, the African penguin is remarkably well-camouflaged to evade marine predators like the great white shark.
While hunting and consuming small sea creatures like squid, mackerel, and pilchards, this little penguin may travel up to 20 kilometers per hour. After being driven to the verge of extinction, this endearing little bird has recently gained international recognition thanks to a nesting colony in Simon’s Town on the Cape Peninsula in South Africa.

The Guano Wars
Unfortunately, the current population of African Penguins is thought to be only 10% of what it was at the beginning of the century. The overhunting of penguin eggs, which are regarded as a delicacy, and habitat loss, particularly guano depletion, are the main causes of the sharp drop in penguin populations. In the past, African penguins would deposit their eggs in tiny holes excavated into the guano crusts that covered offshore islands.
The breeding places of these modest birds were essentially eliminated when people started to remove the guano, which farmers valued for its high amount of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium. By the middle of the 20th century, their habitat had been destroyed, and increased fishing had resulted in declining fish numbers and contamination from oil spills. For these stylish little coastal birds, also known as black-footed penguins, it all meant problems, especially when combined with their natural predation by sharks and seals.
What exactly is guano? It is the excrement of birds, particularly seabirds, or bats.
Today’s African Penguins
Even though the African Penguin is now classed as endangered on the IUCN Red List, things are beginning to improve. The beginning of this land-based colony was marked by the sighting of two African Penguins on Foxy Beach at Boulders in 1983. By 1985, the penguins had started to nest and lay eggs. There were more than 2300 adult penguins by 1997, and these two were undoubtedly the ancestors of a much larger colony!
In addition to reproducing, the penguins’ migration from other colonies, such as Dyer Island (near Gansbaai), was a direct result of the enhanced fish stocks brought on by the prohibition on purse seine fishing in False Bay. The number of African penguins is increasing across the region, with St. Croix Island, close to Port Elizabeth, housing the largest colony, which numbers around 50,000 birds. Robben Island, the site of Nelson Mandela’s imprisonment, is the most well-known of these African penguin colonies, but the most impressive is the colony near Simon’s Town at Boulders in Table Mountain National Park.
African Penguins’ Future?
Guano gathering is prohibited, and the African Penguin’s (Spheniscus demersus) eggs are no longer targeted for human consumption. All of the penguins’ breeding grounds have been declared protected areas or national parks. Important work is done by SANCCOB to rescue penguins, particularly those impacted by oil spills.
There were 18,683 breeding pairs of African penguins in the wild at the time of the latest count, and it is hoped that these numbers will continue to increase with care and attention. A visit to Boulders in Simon’s Town makes it not only conceivable but also simple to see penguins in Africa. Although the majority of penguin breeding locations are on islands, making it challenging to get up close, boardwalks at Boulders and Foxy Beach allow you to get up close and personal with these gregarious birds.
Were you aware? Unlike penguins in Antarctica, African penguins shield their eggs from the sun and keep them cool rather than needing to keep them warm.