The Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) is an international non-profit organisation committed to the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of seabirds in Southern Africa. Recognised by the South African Veterinary Council, SANCCOB operates from its headquarters at the Rietvlei Wetland Reserve in Table View, South Africa. Established in 1968, SANCCOB aims to safeguard Southern Africa's marine birds, with particular attention to endangered species.
History The origins of the organisation can be traced the aftermath of the Esso Essen spill in April 1968, an event that underscored the significant impacts of oil pollution. In response to the oiled African penguins, Althea Louise Burman Westphal established a temporary rehabilitation facility in her residence and formally established SANCCOB in November, 1968. SANCCOB was motivated by increasing incidents of penguins being injured by oil pollution along South Africa's coasts. This rise in pollution was attributed to heightened tanker traffic following the closure of the Suez Canal after the Six-Day War. SANCCOB emerged as a proactive response to address this environmental challenge. Under the leadership of Roy Siegfried, SANCCOB gained formal recognition. Their efforts were supported by evidence documenting the decline in the penguin population over several decades. From 1969 to 1993, SANCCOB provided sanctuary to an annual average of 200 to 2,000 birds, primarily African penguins. SANCCOB has responded to major oil spills, including the Apollo Sea spill in 1994 and the Treasure spill in 2000. During the latter incident, SANCCOB evacuated 19,500 un-oiled birds as a precautionary measure, representing a significant portion of the global population at that time. In addition to crisis response, SANCCOB also mitigates the impact of oiling incidents. Between 1990 and 2005, an average of 750 oiled penguins were taken in annually. Since its inception, SANCCOB has cared for more than 85,000 seabirds.
Conservation
African penguin
SANCCOB implements a comprehensive set of conservation strategies to address the complex array of challenges facing the African penguin, a species classified as endangered. These focus on rescue and rehabilitation, which serves as a key component in mitigating the adverse impacts of human activities and environmental factors on African penguin populations. The organisation's rescue and rehabilitation activities address injuries, illnesses, and instances of abandonment. Upon receiving distress calls from concerned individuals and field rangers, SANCCOB dispatches teams to transport affected penguins to its facilities located in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, where professionals and volunteers deliver specialised care, encompassing medical treatment, nutritional support, and tailored behavioural rehabilitation for each individual bird. SANCCOB's rehabilitation process prioritises the preparation of penguins for successful reintroduction into their natural environment. This entails ensuring that rehabilitated individuals retain crucial survival skills, such as hunting and social behaviours, while minimising human imprinting to facilitate their seamless reintegration into wild populations. In addition to direct intervention, SANCCOB actively engages in research and collaborative efforts aimed at addressing the underlying threats to African penguins. By collaborating with governmental agencies, research institutions, and conservation organisations, SANCCOB contributes to studies focusing on issues such as habitat loss, overfishing, pollution, and climate change, with the aim of identifying and implementing effective mitigation strategies. SANCCOB also works to raise awareness and foster community involvement in African penguin conservation through educational programmes, outreach events, and media campaigns. Recent initiatives include the establishment of a new penguin colony within the De Hoop Nature Reserve, featuring the use of lifelike penguin decoys and recorded penguin calls to attract penguins to this location.
Cape cormorant
The Cape cormorant is endemic to the Benguela Upwelling System and faces endangerment due to a notable decline in breeding pairs observed over the past three decades. Various factors contribute to this decline, including the scarcity of primary prey, disease outbreaks, and recent incidents of avian influenza. With a focus on disease response efforts, SANCCOB works to manage outbreaks and mitigate their impact on the species. One significant event occurred in January 2021 when approximately 2,000 Cape Cormorant chicks were discovered abandoned and distressed, exhibiting signs of dehydration and heat stress, at two critical nesting sites. SANCCOB initiated a comprehensive rescue and rehabilitation effort, the first of its kind for the species, during which approximately 54% of the rescued cormorant chicks were successfully rehabilitated and reintroduced into their breeding colonies. There was a direct correlation between the initial body mass of the chicks upon admission to the rehabilitation centre and their likelihood of survival during the rehabilitation process. A high proportion (80.7%) of the cormorant chicks succumbed within the initial five days of admission.
Cape gannet
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