Together Forever

This is the heart-ache story of two penguins we fondly know as Dublin and Flipper, whose fate is intertwined.

On 8 January 2024,  SanParks brought a young penguin to Tenikwa for rehabilitation. She was classified as a “blue” which is the general name for a juvenile penguin before their first moult into the traditional black and white colours. She was so weak and clearly had a broken flipper and weighed just 1.4kg. Hence we called her “Flipper”.

She was taken to Robberg Vets who x-rayed, assessed and said it would be a long road to recovery, but hopefully the flipper would heal. Unfortunately it meant that she couldn’t swim until it did. Every 3 days we changed her vet wrap bandage that kept her flipper in place, but before doing this we would rest her tummy and chest on our arm and lower her into a small bath of water so she could have the feeling of swimming, whilst it also helped with keeping her feathers waterproof. Finally on 8 March 2024 after a lot of follow up vet visits and x-rays, Flipper was bandage free and introduced to the other penguins in the large rehab pool at Tenikwa in the rehabilitation facilities. She steadily gained weight, and was doing really well.

On 1 September 2024 we admitted another penguin via SanParks. From the injuries sustained, this penguin looked as though he had been attacked by a predator. The wounds were not consistent with a seal attack, and looked more like a dog bite. It is very important that members of the public have control over their dogs and on lead near wildlife and on beaches. His tail had puncture wounds and another puncture on his abdomen. He was very dehydrated and one of the most aggressive penguins we have ever had to handle.  It was good that he was strong enough to fight, but sad that he had been so traumatised that it made helping him more difficult as it stressed him so much each time we had to work with him. We called him “Dublin”. After his veterinary assessment at Robberg Veterinary Clinic, he was kept in our rehab hospital’s high care area for a while before he could join the Tenikwa Penguins. All we had to do now was to wait for him to heal and moult so that his feathers would grow back. At that time, we were planning a release soon, but it wasn’t likely that he would be ready in time. It was disappointing as the rest of the penguins in rehab were cleared for released.

As October arrived,  we were ready to release the Penguins. Dublin had still not moulted and on a check up at the vet it was determined his preen gland had been injured when he was attacked. Penguins use the oil secreted by their preen gland located at the base of their tail, which they rub their beak over and then spread it all over their feathers. This keeps them waterproof, dry and warm in the cold ocean. So if his preen gland still didn’t work after moulting then it would be very unlikely that he could ever be released.

Some 6 days in the lead up to the release, we noticed Flipper was starting to eat a lot more fish. She started piling on the pounds and it was clear she was getting herself ready to go into natural moult. This meant she couldn’t be released with the others, but it also meant that Flipper could keep Dublin company at Tenikwa, along with another recent admission called Elias that SanParks also brought to us until the remaining penguins could be evaluated for release..

In due course, we noticed once more that penguin love was blossoming at Tenikwa!  Dublin and Flipper became inseparable. Unfortunately after Dublin completed his moult, our vet determined that his preen gland was still not functioning as it should. This was heartbreaking for us, as we knew he was now bonded with Flipper and there was a high possibility that he couldn’t be released. He just wouldn’t survive without his waterproofing, so essential in our cold waters. However the Tenikwa Team and the Veterinary Staff from Robberg Vet Clinic just don’t give up that easily when working with endangered species. So back to the vets Dublin went a few more times to have various treatments done to the preening gland, and to our absolute delight it seems the last treatment has worked!  Success at last – there is oil coming from his preen gland and it appears to be functioning correctly now. While he recovered (which was just 3 days) he could only swim for 2 to 3 minutes per day, so we kept him and Flipper in the pool area in a smaller pen together.

So here we are 1 year after Flipper was admitted and 6 months after Dublin was admitted and we are now preparing to release them both, along with 6 other penguins soon.

None of this would ever be possible without the Plett Bird club that assists us to cover some of the costs of the vast quantities of sardines that the penguins consume during their rehabilitation at Tenikwa; the fabulous veterinary staff, especially Sr Hanlie and Dr Pauline and the rest of Robberg Vet Clinic staff;  the amazingly dedicated SanParks Rangers and our generous sponsors, donors and guests who constantly help us, to save furry and feathered lives and give them a second chance at being free and wild.

Team work makes the dream work. We will update on the release date closer to the time.