Adopt a Home Pen Penguin For R1000

Edgar was rescued from Dyer Island, unfortunately due to the severity of his deformities, he could not be released back to the wild. With a deformed beak and missing right eye, it is unlikely that Edgar would have survived in the wild.

During his time in Home Pen, Edgar has had two partners; Columbine was a sweet older lady with a lot of patience! Sadly Collie, as she was affectionately known, passed away from old age, leaving Edgar, the not-so-handsome bachelor. Edgar then met Juniper, a sweet, shy, penguin with a fused flipper; they have been together for 9 years and are still going strong. Edgar helps us save African penguins by donating blood to critically ill patients.

Rescued from Fish Hoek beach, her entire right flipper was missing with bone protruding, it was clear that she would never be released back into the wild. Dehydrated, emaciated and in shock, Jaeger was placed in intensive care and stabilised until the bone could be amputated and sutured up.

A month after surgery, Jaeger joined her new family in Home Pen. A petite and gentle bird, Jaeger caught the eye of the big and burly Flipper and have been together for 11 years. Jaeger and Flipper are the best foster parents in Home Pen and have raised many foster chicks who have since been released back to the wild.

Admitted as an adult, due to not bearing any weight on her left leg, The SANCCOB team tried everything to save her left foot, however due to ligament damage, the decision was made to amputate her foot. The amputation procedure was successful; however, the stump was unfortunately too short for her to be released.

Since her time at SANCCOB, she has had two partners, and is currently nesting with her amputee partner Cedric. Karsten is a sweet lady and has earned her keep in Home Pen as one of our valuable blood donors, who successfully saved the life of one of SANCCOB’s ICU patients.

Found dehydrated, underweight and abandoned due to moulting parents, it was only noticed after admission to SANCCOB that Milo’s beak was severely deformed, and it was unlikely he would be able to hunt successfully. He was moved into Home Pen on Christmas Day, 2009, “Milo-Milo”, as he is fondly called settled very well. Two years later, still a juvenile, he partnered with Flo, who was around 11 years old.
Sadly, after a long and dedicated relationship, Flo died in 2022, and Milo has yet to find love again.

Milo was an incredible foster parent with Flo, rearing numerous foster chicks for release, and more recently, also served as a blood donor. Flo would have been so proud Milo-Milo!

Sweet little Stubby was admitted from Simons Town as a newly hatched chick, with her eyes still closed, weighing only 84g, Stubby’s parents were nesting in an unsafe site and so the rangers rescued Stubby and brought her to the Chick Rearing Unit at SANCCOB. On admission it was noted that she had two small puncture wounds on her back, and although she was a healthy weight, Stubby was not well and was placed on antibiotics treatment. Once Stubby had stabilised, the team observed swelling at the tip of both her flippers; it was clear that they were much shorter than they should be.

As she grew older, measurements were taken of her flippers, which showed they were only 13cm long, compared to other fledgling’s flipper length measuring between 17.5 – 18.5cm. This meant she was unlikely to survive in the wild and was moved to Home Pen in July 2015. Stubby serves as a blood donor to wild penguins in care and shares her life with her partner, Norbit.

Syd was admitted with a fracture to the lower left side of his beak, around 1cm from the tip, as well as a small piece of bone protruding from a toe on his left foot. Surgery was conducted a day after admissions to repair the beak and to amputate the exposed bone on the toe. Another surgery was conducted two days later to stabilise his beak further; two wires were placed through the beak to pull it together, with acrylic placed over the beak. Unfortunately, after two months and multiple surgeries to repair the lower beak, it broke off, leaving Syd with a severe overbite! His inability to hunt in the wild meant that Syd was moved into Home Pen in early 2016, where he partnered with Skipper, and together, the fierce foster parents protect their nest and territory with all their might!

Fortunately, his overbite does not hinder his chick feeding skills at all! Syd is also a proud blood donor and has donated his blood on two separate occasions.

Rescued from Boulders beach by SANParks, Sylvester was admitted underweight, and with no movement in his right leg, and old wounds on his left foot. He was unable to move most of the right side of his body, and this was evident when swimming. Over time, he managed to gain movement in his right leg and could walk, but with an odd shuffle and was bent over towards the left. Sylvester could not keep his balance in the water and often ended up flipping onto his back, as he could only use his left flipper to propel. Not swimming well is always concerning, and with limited use of his right flipper, Sylvester became a permanent Home Pen resident in early 2013.


Sylvester, with his charismatic walk/limp seemed to gain the lady penguins attention, however Sylvester soon became tired of the bachelor lifestyle and decided to settle down with elegant Pamela, who had a fused flipper and polite demeanour, she has kept in on the straight and narrow. Sylvester has been a foster dad and has also donated blood for a much-needed blood transfusion patient at SANCCOB.

Meet String.
Sadly, a head injury left her a few fries short of a happy meal.
She is loveable, but wants her space. She is bossy, but wants a
mate who will take control. She likes being with friends, unless she doesn't.
She likes you, unless she decides not to.
She answers to her name, but only if you're her favourite keeper.
String is a total mystery, and it's that magnificent?

Cuddles was found at Boulder's Beach, an abandoned chick. He was emaciated, with his left eye missing and a deformed beak. He was brought to our centre to be treated but was not able to be released again because of his missing eye. Sight is very important for penguins to be able to catch their prey and avoid predators. Now, Cuddles resides in our luxurious Home Pen, a grand place to be!

Rocky is a Northern Rockhopper penguin found in Struisbaai.

These birds live in the sub-Antarctic on Marion and Gough Islands. Rocky was either caught in the Benguela current or brought to our shores by a ship. She cannot be released because she could carry diseases endemic to South African seabirds back to her colony.

Steve arrived from Simon’s Town in 2015 as a juvenile. She was weak and had a chest infection, but made a full recovery. Unfortunately her loving nature made her imprint on her human caretakers, despite the utmost care taken to minimise interaction, and she would struggle to survive in the wild. Steve is now a SANCCOB ambassador for our environmental education programmes.

Nona was found in Hout Bay with breathing difficulties at the end of 2015. While recovering at the centre, she unfortunately became imprinted on her human caretakers despite the utmost care taken to minimise interaction.

Penguins that have become too acclimatised to humans struggle to adapt in the wild and hunt for their own food. Nona is now a proud ambassador penguin who specialises in old age home visits due to her gentle nature.

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Batmann was admitted to our Cape St Francis centre in 2013 after being severely oiled. Apart from being in desperate need of intensive rehabilitation, we soon realised that Batmann is also blind.

Owing to her disability she will never be able to fend for herself in the wild and is safer in our permanent care.

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Olivia was rescued in the summer of 2010 with a bite wound to his oesophagus, which required specialised veterinary care and rehabilitation.

While he has recovered, if released back into the wild he would have difficulty catching fish, owing to his injury, and he would also be vulnerable to predation. At SANCCOB, Oliver has partnered with Gigi and they have a happy life together.

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