While Norma Landeros-Ramirez and her husband were on a romantic honeymoon in Cape Town, South Africa, she happened to see another couple getting frisky on the beach and snapped a picture. The photo was of two African penguins holding "hands" as they walked down the beach together, and once on social media, the heartwarming photo quickly went viral.
The other couple has no idea they are famous. Penguins, after all, have a hard time using Twitter and Instagram with their flippers. But if they did know they would probably say "thank you" for helping to bring attention to Africa's only penguin.
Behind the adorable photo, lies the truly horrifying fact that these penguins could disappear from Earth in less than 10 years. The African penguin's population — which numbered up to 4 million at the beginning of the 19th century — has been in decline for decades. In 2000, there were less than 200,000 — 5% of the original population. By 2010 that number was again whittled down to 55,000.
The bird, only found on the cape of Southern Africa and its islands, now needs our help if they are going to survive past 2026. One of their main threats to survival is the commercial fishing industry that robs them of their food source and displaces whatever fish they leave alive. Additionally, the birds are still reeling from an outbreak of avian flu that has already claimed several victims.
Please sign the petition and ask the governments of South Africa and Namibia — the penguins' last stronghold — to hike up efforts to save the continents only penguin.
