Good news keeps rolling in from SANCCOB. I recently posted that the badly oiled gannet had recovered enough to be washed for the first time.

Before cleaning

Most of the oil had been removed from his feathers but as the process is stressful, the SANCCOB crew had to leave the rest of the oil for another day. They needed to wait until the gannet regained his strength and then try to remove the rest of the oil.

Only few hours after posting that information, I received news that they would be cleaning the gannet again! He had recovered nicely from the first washing and the SANCCOB crew were ready to have another go at the oil. Good news indeed! Everyone sprung into action making sure that the cleaning stations were set up. Hot and cold rinsing water, washing tubs and cleaning solutions were organized and they were ready to go.

Washing station

After getting a good grip on the bird (they have extremely long, pointed beaks), the staff lowered the bird down into the warm sudsy water. The cleaning solutions that SANCCOB uses is a concoction of different soaps, emulsifiers and canola oil, of all things, to help lift the oil off the bird while being careful not to damage the feathers. The staff even used toothbrushes to get to those delicate areas such as the head.

Into the bath

Scrub a dub dub, there's a gannet in the tub!

After a couple of washings, the gannet was left to dry out in a separate pen with the help of a nice heat lamp. After a few hours, he was as good as new. Or certainly close to it! Not bad for a bird who was pretty close to death once upon a time. He’s now hanging out with a new gannet that has come into the center and hopefully will make a full recovery over the next few weeks. I won’t be here to see the gannet released but it’s been awesome to see his progress to this point. Another remarkable job by the remarkable people at SANCCOB!

After first cleaning

After final cleaning-he's the bird standing up!

Learn more about the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds, or SANCCOB and their Penguin Chick Bolstering Project.

Follow the adventures of Jo's co-worker, Paul! Aquarium penguin biologist Paul Leonard is also in South Africa to study and care for African penguins in the Southern Hemisphere! Read about his experience on the Penguin Blog. 

Hi everyone! I wanted to give you an update on a couple of good news items from South Africa!

Welcome back to Pen 2

Today I spent time in Pen 2—the pen that both Paul and I got to experience fairly early in our SANCCOB experience. It’s where I learned to handle birds and managed to get my fair share of new bruises. But there was no time for a reunion as it was a busy day in Pen 2. Another release day was here!

Release day!

Nine more African penguins were released today! I wasn’t able to attend the release because I was working in Pen 2 but I was able to help get the birds ready for their departure from SANCCOB. As before, many of the birds had measurements taken, some had metal tags put on for future identification in the wild and all got a bright pink spot that identified them as birds that has been released. It was a lot of work to get the squirmy birds to sit still long enough for all this to happen but well worth it. After we were done, five boxes of penguins left SANCCOB headed for the waters near Robben Island. Awesome!

Putting on the metal ID tag

ID tag on

Another good news update involves the oiled gannet that I had mentioned in previous posts here and here. He continues to improve every day, so much so that they washed him for the first time! Washing oil off of a bird is a stressful process and SANCCOB only does it when they know the bird can handle it. The gannet had improved to the point where it was a good idea, so we got a-scrubbing. Because he is a large bird, the process takes extra long and during the process the SANCCOB folks noticed he was getting a bit tired. So though a lot of the oil is gone, he will be washed again in the future to remove the rest. But a great step forward for the gannet…hopefully a step towards release!

Before washing

After washing!

So good news coming from SANCCOB recently! It’s an awesome feeling to help these birds and even better feeling when all of the hard work pays off!

See? I do work here!

Learn more about the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds, or SANCCOB and their Chick Bolstering Project.

Follow the adventures of Jo's co-worker, Paul! Aquarium penguin biologist Paul Leonard is also in South Africa to study and care for African penguins in the Southern Hemisphere! Read about his experience on the Penguin Blog. 

Thank you ICU!

Over the past few days, I’ve had the opportunity to work in SANCCOB’s intensive care unit. Just as in human medicine, the ICU is where the most critical patients are cared for. Here the patients are closely monitored, many times given medications and fluids on a more regular basis and health indicators are constantly evaluated.



So what qualifies a patient for ICU care at SANCCOB? It differs for each individual. When a bird first comes to the center, they are given a health evaluation. Vital signs, physical condition and blood work are examined over the first few days. Medications may be prescribed and care plans can be set in motion. If a bird is thought to be “out of the woods” then they may join another group of birds outside of ICU. If not, they can remain in ICU until they are better.

Admissions card and health record

Lots of different medications for different treatments

There are currently a number of birds under ICU’s care. The oiled gannet is still here being stabilized before his feathers can be washed. However, he’s progressing well enough to spend some time outside in a prepared space. It’s been good to see him stretch out his wings and become more alert as time goes on.

Oiled gannet looking more alert and with room to stretch

There are also a number of African penguins in ICU, ranging in age from chicks to adults. Many of the chicks are underweight, being abandoned by parents who couldn’t find enough food for themselves. To help them gain weight, they are given formula (those fishy milkshakes I’ve talked about before) as many as three times a day. The formula is given to the chick through a tube that goes down their throat. It takes a lot of training and practice but the experienced staff and volunteers make it look easy: tube goes in, formula gets delivered, and penguin gets a tummy full of goodness.

Is it lunch time yet?

Tubing a penguin to give it formula

Lunch service complete

Other patient issues include mobility and paralysis issues. A Hartlaub’s gull is having problems flying and an African penguin has partial paralysis and is unable to stand normally. To help strengthen his muscles and to get him upright, the staff created a bucket and towel contraption to help with his therapy. The bird also gets physical therapy treatments—a few bicycle kicks and lunges are good for anyone’s health.

Hartlaub's gull resting

Bucket training for strengthening muscles and sitting up straight

As cute as a picture of a penguin in a bucket can be, it‘s a tough job in ICU. The standard of care is excellent and sick birds are able to pull through. Just today they upgraded a number of patients out of ICU to other pens. However, it’s the nature of a rescue hospital that things can turn very quickly and though SANCCOB does everything they can, animals will pass away. It’s always hard when it happens but the dedicated SANCCOB crew knows there is work to be done. Life goes on…and with it hopes that other ICU patients will make it through.