Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning
(a) What are the reasons why the penguin rehabilitation facility on Bird Island, Lambert’s Bay, is still not back in service, (b) what is the (i) maximum and (ii) ideal number of penguins that can be accommodated and/or rehabilitated at the facility and (c)(i) what is delaying the reintroduction of penguins to the facility and (ii) when is the facility expected to be operational again?
- The intended use of the facility is not to rehabilitate injured penguins. Instead, the Bird Island facility is intended to permanently house birds that are not fit to be re-introduced to the wild, subject to necessary authorisations. CapeNature is in the process of procuring a service provider to undertake the task of compiling a management plan for the facility, which will be submitted to Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment as per regulatory requirements.
(b) (i) The maximum number of penguins that can be accommodated is 10. This takes into account the size of the facility as well as the operational capacity of the reserve.
(ii) An ideal number is between 6 and 10 penguins.
(c) (i) The facility has not been opened yet due to planned upgrades to all buildings including the installation of bespoke and modern marine interpretation material. This project will run concurrently with the development of the management plan and necessary authorisations.
(ii) It is intended to re-launch visitor features including the penguin viewing facility on the island once all associated projects have been completed successfully and authorisations granted.
