RACHEL VALDEZ
Staff Reporter
IF YOU’RE driving along the southern coast from Gansbaai to Cape Town this week and spot a convoy of people dressed in black and white, waddling alongside the road, don’t panic – it’s for a good cause.
Animal behaviourists Hayley McLellan from the Two Oceans Aquarium and Gabby Harris of Durban’s uShaka Marine World, along with a support team, have embarked on a trip called “Waddling for a Week” to raise awareness of the plight of the highly endangered African penguin.
The 122km trek from Gansbaai to Simon’s Town, which started yesterday, is the latest effort to save the continent’s only indigenous penguin species from extinction.
McLellan said the idea came after they had been challenged by Animal Keepers’ Association of Africa chairperson Robynn Ingle-Moller to create an event that would raise awareness about one of South Africa’s endangered species.
So, the pair and their colleagues created Penguin Promises, where people commit to Earth-friendly behaviours that will help to revive penguin populations. “Waddling for a Week” was designed to “narrow down the focus and create a connection, and intimacy, with the animals”.
Using the attention garnered by the waddle, Penguin Promises aims to teach people about bigger issues facing the animal populations, including overfishing and pollution.
The campaign is not asking people for money – it simply wants volunteers to adopt at least one pro-penguin behaviour – ranging from working with conservation organisations to buying more local products and less plastic.
Penguin lovers are invited to join the walk. Log on to http://www.mobii.com/penguinpromises/, Twitter (@PenguinPromises) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/penguinpromises).