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Penguins at Home in South African Town

Near the southern tip of Africa, penguins have taken over some of the most valuable real estate on the continent. The birds rarely roost on the mainland. But they've established a beachhead at Simon's Town, a seaside village south of Cape Town.

As NPR's Jason Beaubien reports, the first of the jackass penguins -- named for their distinctive braying sound -- arrived in 1983. They were soon joined by thousands of feathered friends, and a national park was created. But the birds ignore manmade barriers, and often wander into town, where they are frequently killed by cars despite a "penguin crossing" sign.

Despite the dangers, the Simon's Town colony is thriving. But overall numbers of the jackass species have declined sharply in recent decades, plagued by competition from commercial fishing. Beaubien reports that South African wildlife officials have even taken to calling them "African" penguins to improve their image.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Jason Beaubien is NPR's Global Health and Development Correspondent on the Science Desk.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.