Global 09 - Young Penguin Orphans.

Two young orphaned African Penguin chicks preen each other in a holding pen at the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB), in Cape Town, South Africa. Orphaned on Dyer Island the two chicks were part of a total of 800 taken in by the world famous sea bird sanctuary. When parent penguins start moulting they lose their waterproofing feathers & as a result cannot fish for food to feed themselves & their young. The youngsters would have starved to death if it were not for the helping hands of SANCCOB staff & volunteers helping to hand rear the already threatened species.