Issue 163: May 2000, Pg 7

Sancor
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penguins

The African Penguin Spheniscus demersus population has been in decline throughout the twentieth century. Numbers of birds exceeded 1.5 million when the century began but had fallen to an estimated 180 000 by the early 1990s.
 
The species is presently classified as "vulnerable" under the IUCN red data list criteria. If current trends continue, it is only a matter of time before it becomes endangered.
Phil Whittington
Avian Demography Unit, Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7701
                                                                                                       
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