Honey bees blamed for deaths of 65 penguins

THE discovery of 65 dead African penguins, believed to have been attacked by a swarm of Cape honey bees at Boulders Beach in Simon’s Town, has come as a blow to conservationists.

A preliminary investigation into the incident showed that the penguins died after being stung by the bees but a team of specialist vets and advisers from the South African National Parks (SANParks), the City of Cape Town and the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (Sanccob) will continue to probe the deaths.

SANParks spokesperson Lauren Clayton said: “On Friday morning, 64 African penguins were found dead in the Boulders African penguin colony in Simon’s Town. Another dead penguin was also found on Fish Hoek beach on Saturday.

“We believe the deaths occurred suddenly sometime between Thursday afternoon and Friday morning.

“A preliminary investigation suggests that the penguins died because of being stung by a swarm of Cape honey bees, and no external physical injuries were observed on any of the birds. The team will continue their investigation to rule out any other potential causes,” said Clayton.

Sanccob vet David Roberts said that while it was unusual for the penguins to mix with the Cape honey bees, it’s not unusual for the bees to be defensive if they felt under threat.

Roberts said there might have been a disturbance in Simon’s Town or a garden in the area that led to the bees reacting in the manner they did and attacking the penguins.

He said: “There’s never been an incident such as this one so it’s not a usual occurrence.

“While the Cape honey bees are indigenous to the area because of the fynbos, the penguins and bees do not interact at all.

“Something must have happened to trigger such a response from the bees and lead to this tragedy.

“We believe the birds died from the toxins derived from the bee stings because birds are not like other mammals and are more susceptible to the poison.

“Some of the birds had more than 20 stings on their bodies, which caused massive organ failure.

Roberts said: “The African penguins are in danger of becoming extinct; that’s why this is such a tragedy.”