PITTSBURGH — The African penguin is on the brink of extinction in the wild and the National Aviary is increasing its efforts to save the critically endangered bird.

A conservation scientist at the North Side bird zoo, which has a growing community of African penguins, is leading short- and long-term plans for the Association of Zoos & Aquariums, including recently rolling out “first responder” training for rangers in Africa to rescue ill and distressed penguins.

“It’s a dire situation. There are various ways a species can survive — move, change food, change its distribution or they can die out,” said Patty McGill, a senior conservation scientist at the National Aviary who leads the AZA’s Saving Animals from Extinction program for African penguins.

“If we let the birds die and not breed, populations will decline faster,” she said in an interview with the Post-Gazette. “That is why we are all hands on deck now.”

The International Union for Conservation of Nature uplisted the 2-foot-tall, flightless bird species from endangered to critically endangered in 2024. African penguins could become extinct in the wild by 2035, according to the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds.

These beloved tuxedo-plumaged species, found at zoos throughout the country, live primarily in South Africa and Namibia. Their populations have plummeted by about 97% since the turn of the 20th century. Only about 9,000 wild nesting pairs remain globally, McGill said.

“We’re trying to prevent die-out, and that is what we are facing,” she said.

“I’m an optimist by nature. There are still things we can do to turn it around.”

Currently, some birds are starving to death because their main prey — anchovies and sardines — have been overfished. Some waters are protected around penguin colonies, but it may not be enough.

Growing worldwide demand for the penguin’s favorite food isn’t making it easier: Anchovies are the main ingredient in fishmeal, which supports the estimated annual $500 billion global aquaculture industry.

Additionally, the penguins are facing warming oceans and swimming farther to reach cold currents to find food.

The National Aviary is in its third season helping penguins in Namibia, a relatively young country in sub-Saharan Africa with a shorter penguin conservation history than South Africa. The AZA, McGill, and other conservation scientists have a longer history working with the penguins in South Africa.

Namibia holds 10-15% of the species' entire population.

“With a critically declining species like this, the 10-15% is important,” McGill said. “Namibia is very committed to doing its part, and the Aviary support is critical to making it happen.”

With a boost from the National Aviary, the AZA has placed 400 and counting artificial nest burrows for penguin breeding and protection.

Chris Gaus, the Aviary’s assistant manager of animal care, and Kurt Hundgen, its senior director of animal care and conservation programs, regularly visit the penguin colonies in Namibia. But that is just one facet of the short-term interventions.

This year, the Aviary’s curator of education, Katie Manion, is leading a remote ranger training project in Namibia for EMT response, data collection and penguin behavior observation.

“The more penguins the rangers can find in a timely fashion, the quicker you can rescue and rehab them,” McGill said.

“We do know there are injured and stranded penguins that, had we responded more quickly, we could have saved them.”

She has heard reports from tour operators about dying birds. “We know penguins are not getting enough food.”

The rangers will learn to conduct more beach surveys in other parts of Namibia to find and rescue penguins. They will also monitor breeding success to help increase the survival of eggs, chicks and adults.

“With more sophisticated training of rangers, we will get a better picture of exactly what is going on in Namibia,” McGill said.

She is shepherding more research efforts and looking for funding. Projects include using microchips to track penguin travels and assess their foraging success, and using AI to detect predators and other disturbances in penguin colonies in real time to alert rangers and others.

Food scarcity is the current long-term challenge, McGill said.

“The strong driver is lack of prey fish, which is exacerbated by climate change and warming oceans,” she said.

Penguins fish in the cold currents where prey is more abundant, feeding on small fish in vast schools when they can find them.

The warming waters of the oceans have become “thin soup” for the penguins, McGill said. “Penguins are struggling to find things to eat.”

The birds may have to swim farther from their colonies to find fish and sometimes must consume fish species that are not as nutritious as sardines and anchovies.

Although fisheries exclusion zones exist around some penguin colonies, the AZA SAFE project is trying to document if they are making a difference. McGill’s AZA conservation scientists are also conducting fish surveys with sonar to assess the biomass near penguin colonies.

“If we don’t solve the long-term issue of prey availability, quite frankly, the African penguin is facing extinction in the wild,” she said.

To help the African penguin, people can visit the National Aviary to learn more or make a donation to the Aviary's penguin conservation program. McGill also suggests eating sustainable seafood. To learn more about that, visit seafoodwatch.org.

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