A colony of the endangered species capping wine has been killed by a swarm of bees.
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The penguins were stung around the eyes and on the mitts, according to studies of the birds. The incident happened at Boulder’s Beach in Simonstown, just south of Cape Town in South Africa.
One of the penguins had been stung 27 times.
This is stated by spokespersons for the national park to the BBC, which says this is the first known attack in the area by the tourist attraction Boulder’s Beach.
According to World Conservation Union (IUCN), there are no more than 47,700 adult capping wines left in the world. The number is declining.
This penguin gets help when it is in trouble with another kind of animal:
– It is of course dramatic to lose so many birds. These were large, adult, healthy birds, says Dr. Katta Ludniya at the South African Foundation for the Protection of Coastal Birds to Reuters.
She says they are working to save every single capping wine.
– The reason why this incident is so tragic is that the capping wine is very endangered, and we have so few penguins left in the open. A healthy population could handle an event like this.
– But because there are so few birds left, we try to save every single one. Losing such a large number of birds is obviously terrible.
–“Usually penguins and bees have a coexistence,” marine biologist Alison Kock told the BBC.
– Bees do not sting without being provoked. We work under the assumption that a nearby nest was disturbed, and caused a mass flight of bees, which swarmed and became aggressive, Kock continues.
Unfortunately, the penguins ended up in the way of the bees, and found the featherless places by the eyes and on the mitts of the penguins, where the animals have very thin skin.
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