Life is Groovy!

‘Groovy’ was less than a year old in 2007, and a young and upcoming resident on Ichaboe Island off the coast Lüderitz, when tragedy struck – a seal took him for ‘lunch’.

According to Sandra Dantu of the Penguin Rehabilitation Centre in Swakopmund, it was a miracle that the little African Penguin (formerly known as a Jackass Penguin) survived the attack.Groovy and some of his peers were coming out of the water after feeding on some pilchard when they were ambushed by a group of rogue Cape Fur Seals.’The seals know exactly what the penguins have been doing, and they also know that the penguins’ tummies are full of fish. Penguins and fish are part of a seal’s diet,’ she told The Namibian.Young little Groovy ended up in the jaws of such a seal, but thanks to his Creator, Groovy escaped – but barely with his stomach.From November 2007 until mid-2008, Groovy was being cared for by researchers on the island. Misfortune struck again, according to Dantu, a shortage in fish-supply due to poor fish stocks forced the caretakers to let Groovy go – back into the wild oceans with its rogue seals.’His wound was not healed totally yet, and there was some concern,’ Dantu said. After some time – and no squawk from Groovy – everyone thought the worst, but this was short-lived. In October 2008 he was discovered – he had swam a few hundred kilometers (with his baby-tag no. R3189) – to Walvis Bay Harbour where after he was taken into the care of Dantu.’We noticed that the wound was still not healed, so we sent him back to Lüderitz for further rehabilitation,’ she said.By the beginning of 2009, Groovy moulted (lost all his feathers to make place for new ones), and it seemed as if his battle scar would be covered by January 2009. He was released again the following month. ‘Nearly two years had past when he re-appeared in Walvis Bay about two weeks ago, having lost all the feathers over the scar,’ Dantu said. ‘He had come out of the water and was finding shelter behind a car’s wheel at one of the fish factories. Animal lovers got hold of us and so we were reunited with Groovy. He was in good condition, but we kept him another week just for observation in case before letting him go again.’Groovy was once again released at Vierkantklip, south of Swakopmund on November 12.’Under normal circumstances, any penguin with a big bare area such as he had would be kept until the next moult-cycle covered the scar. This is important for temperature regulation and to keep the bird dry. It can be compared to diving or surfing with a big hole in your wetsuit – you would not be able to stay in the water very long,’ Dantu explained. ‘In Groovy’s case, he had been coping well with that bald spot since September at least, and was a healthy weight, so there was no need to keep him until the next moult in January or February next year.’So, whenever you spot a battle-scarred penguin somewhere between Lüderitz and Swakopmund – say hi to Groovy!