Stony Point Penguin Colony

Description

The Stony Point Penguin Colony is located in Betty's Bay on the Cape Overberg coastline, Western Cape, and is one of the only mainland-based African Penguin colonies in South Africa. As these birds usually nest on islands to keep away from predators, it is quite a phenomenon to find a colony so close to a human settlement.

The colony was first established in 1982 with the arrival of a breeding pair of penguins, assumed to have come from nearby Dyer Island. By 1986, the colony had grown to around 40 nests. The colony was initially unfenced, allowing visitors to view the penguins in close proximity. This changed in the late 1980s due to an incident when a leopard attacked the nests and killed over 60 of the penguins. Since then, the penguins have been fenced in and have grown to hold over 150 pairs, due to both breeding and immigration from Dyer Island. Boardwalks have been erected to provide the perfect vantage point to view the penguins.