Written by, and photographs supplied by, Keri McMorran, Managing Director of Tenikwa Wildlife Rehabilitation and Awareness Centre
The Story of Backman Thus Far
Backman is currently the smallest but oldest penguin in the rehabilitation centre who came to Tenikwa as a blue. A blue is a young penguin before their first moult.
Tenikwa is equipped with a rehabilitation centre for treating injured and abandoned wild animals. Tenikwa forms part of a network of rehabilitation centres along the coast that rescue and rehabilitate penguins before returning them to the sea to attempt to help prevent/reduce the risk of penguin extinction.
On the 6th of June 2022, Robberg Vet Clinic, which works hand in hand with Tenikwa, received an African penguin with a severe injury to his back, most likely inflicted by a boat propeller slicing his back (an example of human-wildlife conflict). First, the wound had to be sterilised, debrided, and cleaned. Then, it had to be carefully stitched and the feathers aligned to ensure the little penguin would be waterproof once the wound had healed. This would ensure a quicker stay in rehabilitation.
However, the wound tore open, revealing a more extensive injury that required further surgery. A large portion of his back had to be shaved, which meant he’d have to remain in rehabilitation until he moulted and grew new feathers. This was the beginning of Backman’s journey with Tenikwa.
An Aqua-Phobic Penguin?
The traumatic experience with a boat had left Backman frightened of water – he was terrified and panicked the minute he was put into it. He was wary of everything, including fish, which, for a penguin, is a problem! Building trust took time, but eventually, he realised the rehabilitation staff just wanted to help him, and he gradually overcame his fear. The staff started him off in a tray of shallow water, splashing his feet and slowly introducing him to deeper and deeper water in a trough until one day, he simply took a dive by himself in the big pool!
Tenikwa then contacted Tasmyn Gouws, a vet physiotherapist at Equine Librium, and asked for her assistance in healing his terrible wound. “I started treatment on Backman in July 2022 after he arrived at Tenikwa,” said Tasmyn. “For the stitches to be put in, they had to cut some of his feathering. We started laser light therapy to assist the growth of his feathering and help heal the wound. His wound responded well with healing, but to see if his feathers would return, he had to go through his first moult.”
Backman Gets a Buddy
That November, another penguin was admitted for rehabilitation. We named her Happy Feet. She had a fishing line embedded around her face and beak and was unable to eat normal-sized fish because she couldn’t open her mouth wide enough to swallow the fish. She hadn’t eaten for weeks and was starving.
Whenever it was feed time, Happy Feet would come running up for food and would pitter-patter behind us, begging for food. We were able to feed her small whitebait and mullet that a local fisherman kindly caught for her, but my gosh, sometimes she’d eat 25 in one sitting! Happy Feet and Backman became friends and spent most of their time together.
Backman continued to improve, but his scar was clearly visible, which meant he wasn’t insulated against the cold water. Waterproofing is one of the critical requirements a penguin must have in order to be considered for release. Meanwhile, Happy Feet’s extensive scarring around her beak subsided, and our staff were able to increase the size of fish they could offer her. Finally, she moved off whitebait and onto small sardines.
Preparations For Release
In November 2023, we were getting ready to release some of our other penguins, but it was clear Backman wouldn’t be able to maintain his body temperature if released. It was only then that we realised Backman and Happy Feet had become a bonded pair – penguin bonding means bonding for life!
With this in mind, we consulted with our vet. Releasing Happy Feet could set Backman back in his progress, particularly because of the trauma of his experiences. It was decided that Happy Feet would remain with Backman in rehabilitation. He was immediately put on a new regime of different vitamins to help kick-start the process of moulting.
Backman Finally Moults
Eventually, in December 2023, Backman finally started his moult. This was then followed by a waiting game to see if his feathers would fully regrow over the scar so that he’d be waterproof and fit for release. It was the longest 18 days of our lives!
Finally, the wait was over. When his adult feathers grew, he was fully covered, and a proud and handsome – and fully insulated – black-and-white penguin appeared before our eyes. After his moult, he quickly became ravenous and started to fully embrace what it was to be a real African penguin.
The End of Backman’s Story...
At the beginning of July 2024, we noticed that every pebble, stick, and shell from around the penguin rehab pool and “beach” was being carried into the “hide” – a little fake rock in the enclosure – by Happy Feet and Backman. They were being very unsociable with the other penguins and spent more and more time in the rock with the little nest they were building. It soon became apparent that these two love birds were likely to start breeding. This, of course, would have been perfect had they been out of rehab and on an island where they could raise their chick the way they should be raised.
Our plan to release the pair on a beach in Plettenberg Bay had to be scrapped as it could take up to two weeks for them to go to an island to nest and breed. We needed to move to Plan B, which we didn’t actually have at the time. Eventually, it was decided we needed to find them a safe island and physically take them there ourselves with the permission and support of SANCCOB, our vet, and Cape Nature. This is where Christina Hagen came in, and we discussed releasing them on De Hoop Penguin Colony.
We had to wait for the right weather, and with the assistance of Ocean Sailing Charters skipper Ruan’s close monitoring, he let us know when we had the best weather for release. On the 18th of July, we got the all-clear from Cape Nature and Christina for the release to go ahead on the 20th of July 2024.
As luck would have it, Robberg Vets Vet Nurse Hanlie was travelling to Cape Town that morning, so she headed to the De Hoop Penguin Colony, five hours away, with Backman and Happy Feet and all their sticks, pebbles, and shells they’d collected.
Hanlie and Christina found a perfect nesting spot for them on the island and kept them and their nesting items contained in a pen until just before dark so that they’d stay on the island until morning. The pair had transponders fitted so Christina could monitor if they’d left and returned to the island. There are also cameras situated all over the island, which made spotting them slightly easier.
A few days after their release, Happy Feet’s transponder alerted Christina that she was on the island. Shortly afterwards, Christina spotted a very short adult penguin that looked very much like Backman on the island as well. We could only imagine all the emotions for these two African penguins who’d been in captivity for so long.
None of this would have been possible without the MANY people who worked as a team to help save these penguins and get them to where they belong. We cannot thank you all enough! All we can now hope is that Backman and Happy Feet have decided to call De Hoop home and will settle there and contribute to establishing a colony on the island.
https://sanccob.co.za/projects/de-hoop-penguin-colony/
ABOUT TENIKWA WILDLIFE AWARENESS AND REHABILITATION CENTRE
Tenikwa Wildlife Awareness Centre is located at The Crags in Plettenberg Bay. We offer a variety of conservation-based wildlife tours and accommodation suitable for couples, families, and romantic getaways. Tenikwa is a non-profit organisation, and your support funds our conservation activities.
