The struggle to keep African penguins alive

African penguin populations are declining annually, and eventually there could be none left. According to scientists, the species is disappearing by around 8% year.

Penguins jump around the shoreline of Betty's Bay in South Africa, calling to one other with short, harsh barks as the ocean waves over the rocky beach.

As they stumble around, they are adorably funny, but Alistair McInnes appears alarmed.

This one is really narrow near the ocean. As you can see, it is not very fat.

Dr. McInnes works with BirdLife South Africa as a seabird conservator and is a member of the team that monitors the declining penguin populations in the nation.

Over the last century, the African penguin, which is indigenous to Namibia and South Africa, has had a 99% decline in population.

"The situation is extremely urgent, as we could see the extinction of the species within our lifetimes by 2035 if the current rates of decline persist into the near future," cautions Dr. McInnes.

For this reason, in the first case of its sort in South Africa, BirdLife South Africa and the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (Sanccob) are suing the government.

They contend that ministers have not done enough to safeguard endangered species.

The organizations' representative, Kate Handley of the Biodiversity Law Centre, adds, "We cannot let a species go extinct on our watch." She continues by saying that it is the government's constitutional duty to avert such a situation.

In seven colonies along Africa's southwest coast, almost all of the remaining African penguins reside.

It is believed that the number of breeding pairs in the nation has now dropped to 8,750.

Travelers from all over the globe go to view the penguins because they are stocky, short birds with a noticeable black stripe down the side of their bodies.

They seem indifferent to the photographers, yet they live in a vulnerable state whether they are basking in the sun or tending to their eggs.

They are at risk from seals and several gull species, which are their natural predators.

However, people are the true adversaries.

Penguins' habitat was harmed by the now-ceased practice of collecting guano, which is accumulated bird droppings into which the birds would dig tunnels.

The issue is being made worse by climate change; storms and floods put their colonies in jeopardy, and changing ocean currents and temperatures make it more difficult for the birds to get food.

Additionally, the sardines and anchovies that penguins eat are important products for the commercial fishing sector.

The government of South Africa has made an effort to impose restrictions on the operations of "purse seine" fishing boats, which use massive nets to capture vast schools of fish.

This is a contentious subject.

A panel of independent international specialists has provided feedback, lengthy talks between the fishing industry and environmentalists have taken place, and fishing sites have been closed experimentally over the last fifteen years.

Penguin populations are still dropping, however.

BirdLife South Africa and Sanccob contend that the existing closures, which prohibit fishing near certain colonies, are too broad or situated in the appropriate areas to adequately safeguard the penguin population.

The prompt deployment of closures that are "biologically meaningful" is what their attorneys are requesting.

The idea that they are at fault is strongly rejected by the local populace.

Many of those fishermen are represented by the South African Pelagic Fishing Industry Association, whose deputy head is Shamera Daniels. "We're a fraction of the problem," Daniels adds.

There is predation by sharks and seals. We have noise pollution and oil and gas exploration.

She continues, "The industry has already lost millions of dollars and hundreds of jobs as a result of the current restrictions." She cautions that future closures would hurt an industry that many people in this area depend on.

There is a long and maybe unpleasant legal procedure ahead.

Ms. Handley, a conservation lawyer, understands that the choice to file a lawsuit was not made hastily, but time is of the essence.

"No matter how remote the possibility that we will get this court judgment in time to actually have a biologically meaningful benefit for penguins, we has to implement every incremental step towards trying to save the African penguin," she adds.

When a first hearing could be held is yet unknown. The South African government would not yet discuss the matter in public.

However, experts worry that it could already be too late for Africa's extinct breed.