A swarm of bees has killed dozens of endangered African penguins on a beach in South Africa.
The South African Coastal Bird Conservation Foundation reports that 63 African penguins died from being stung by a swarm of bees on a beach outside Cape Town, Sunday (19/9/2021).
“After tests, we found a bee sting around the penguin’s eye,” said David Roberts, the foundation’s clinical veterinarian.
According to Roberts, African penguins die from bee stings, this is a very rare event.
“We didn’t expect it to happen often, it’s a coincidence. There were also bees that died at the scene,” he said.
These protected birds were found dead on Friday. The penguins that died were from a colony in Simonstown, a small town near Cape Town.
This area is a national park and the Cape honeybee area is part of the ecosystem.
“Penguins, don’t just die, because they are already threatened with extinction. They are a protected species,” explained Roberts.
To investigate the cause of death of these endangered African penguins, the carcass of this bird was brought to the foundation for research.
According to South African National Parks, no external physical injuries were found on any of the birds.
Reporting from The Independent, the African penguin is a species that is critically endangered, the risk of extinction for this penguin is very high, and it is included in the red list of the International Union Conservation of Nature.
“We are grateful to all of our conservation partners, especially SANCCOB and the City of Cape Town, who have assisted us in investigating this unusual event,” Alison Kock, SANParks marine biologist, said in a statement.
“No more dead African penguins were found at the site today, and we will continue to monitor the situation.”
Officials investigating the death of the African penguin suspected of being stung by the Cape honeybee added that until now, samples are still being tested to analyze the possibility of other toxicities and diseases that may be the cause of the death of this endangered penguin.
(NFL)
