By Nneka Nwogwugwu
A swarm of bees has killed 63 endangered African penguins on a beach outside Cape Town.
The birds were found dead last Friday on the beach at Boulders, a popular tourist destination south of Cape Town.
They were part of a colony of African penguins (Spheniscus demersus) living in a nature reserve, which are considered endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
The area is a national park and the Cape honey bees are part of the ecosystem.
“After tests, we found bee stings around the penguins’ eyes,” David Roberts, a clinical veterinarian and part of the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds, said on Sunday.
“This is a very rare occurrence. We do not expect it to happen often, it’s a fluke. There were also dead bees on the scene.”
The South African National Parks said the birds were taken to the foundation for post-mortem – which showed all the penguins had multiple bee stings – and samples sent for disease and toxicology testing.
“There were no external physical injuries found on any of the birds,” a parks statement said.
Some of the animals were found with 20 or more bee stings, spokeswoman for the South African Nature Conservation Authority SANParks Lauren Howard-Clayton, told the dpa news agency on Monday.
Quality journalism costs money. Today, we’re asking that you support us to do more. Support our work by sending in your donations.
The donation can be made directly into NatureNews Account below
