Southern Africa
SAFE, which stands for Saving Animals From Extinction, is a campaign created by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) to help raise awareness for threatened animals. The African Penguin SAFE program is a part of this campaign that focuses specifically on African penguins, how we can sustain and increase wild African penguin populations and improving oil spill disaster response protocols.
Why do they need our support?
African penguins are currently face severe decline in populations. 20 years ago, there were more than 50,000 pairs of African penguins living in southern Africa. Today there are only 14,000 pairs remaining and this penguin species is officially listed as endangered. These decreasing populations of African penguins are cause by habitat loss and destruction and the fishing industry.
How is the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo helping?
The Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo has joined other AZA-accredited institutions to gather research and prioritize conservation actions for protecting the South African black-footed penguin through African Penguin SAFE.