African penguin population decline began 20 000 years ago – study

For islands to qualify as suitable for penguins, they needed to offer protection from land-based predators and had to be surrounded by suitable foraging grounds for sardine and anchovy within a 20km radius. Supplied

Rising sea levels since the last Ice Age forced them to ‘island hop’ or move to the mainland, which presents an opportunity for their surviva

Tags: African penguins, Climate Change, Competition For Food, Extinction, Guy Midgley, habitat destruction, Heath Beckett, Ice Age, School for Climate Studies, sea level rise, Stellenbosch University