12 Dec 2017
The word “gannet” is synonymous
with gluttony - but lack of food is becoming a serious problem for the Cape
Gannet. This year it has been uplisted from Vulnerable to Endangered due to
population declines driven by depleted fish stocks.
The Afrikaans name for the Cape
Gannet Morus capensis is “Malgas”, meaning “mad
goose”. This makes sense when you see this large seabird on the ground.
Their ungainly waddle, coupled with the difficulty they have in taking off when
there isn’t any wind, does appear quite comical. But at sea and they are
different birds entirely. When feeding, they plunge into the water like arrows,
to depths of up to 20 metres.
But these seabirds, endemic to
South Africa and Namibia, have recently been uplisted by BirdLife from
Vulnerable to Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
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