Projects to Support

African Penguin Rescue & Conservation

SOUTH AFRICA

Direct veterinary action to help save one of the world's most endangered seabirds.

location:
Cape Town to Gqeberha, South Africa

Endangered species:
African Penguin (Spheniscus demersus)

Our Action: Wildlife veterinary medicine, rehabilitation support, scientific research, education, and global awareness

2026 Goal: 10.000$0%0%

Donate to Protect African Penguin

Projects to Support

African Penguin Rescue & Conservation

South Africa

Direct veterinary action to help save one of the world's most endangered seabirds

location: Cape Town & Gqeberha, South Africa

Endangered species: African Penguin (Spheniscus demersus)

Our action: Wildlife veterinary medicine, rehabilitation support, scientific research, education, and global awareness.

Donate to Protect African Penguin

The African penguin is found nowhere else on Earth but the coastlines of South Africa and Namibia.
Once numbering in the millions, fewer than 19,800 mature individuals remain today. Over the past century, the species has declined by more than 95%, driven by overfishing, climate change, habitat degradation, pollution, and disease.

Today, fewer than 19,800 mature individuals remain in the wild.

Listed as Endangered by the IUCN, the African penguin is one of the world's fastest-declining seabirds. Without continued conservation action, it could disappear from the wild within decades.
As a key indicator of ocean health, the future of the African penguin reflects the future of the southern African marine ecosystem.

Save one of the world's most endangered seabirds

What We Do

Saving African penguins requires veterinary medicine, science, rehabilitation, education, and public engagement.

Wildlife Veterinary Medicine

Supporting veterinary examinations, health assessments, treatment, and rehabilitation to improve the survival of rescued African penguins.

Population Health & One Health Research

Advancing scientific knowledge through disease surveillance, population health monitoring, and One Health research to better understand the challenges facing African penguins.

Rehabilitation Support

Working alongside SANCCOB to improve the rescue, rehabilitation, and successful release of injured, sick, and orphaned penguins.

Education & Community Awareness

Developing educational programmes for schools and communities, helping inspire the next generation to protect marine wildlife and ocean ecosystems.

International Awareness

Using documentaries, media, storytelling, and global campaigns to bring the African penguin's story to audiences around the world.

African penguin standing by clear blue water

African penguin standing in shallow coastal water

African penguin resting on a coastal rock

Veterinarians Fabiola Quesada and Carol Wanton examining an African penguin

Two African penguins walking on a sandy beach

Young African penguin during rehabilitation

Close-up of an African penguin during rehabilitation

Veterinarians Fabiola Quesada and Carol Wanton preparing for penguin rehabilitation

What You Can Do

Donate to Protect Penguin

Donations Open

2026 Goal: 10.000$0%0%

Donate

You can help make that future possible:


Rehabilitation support

Scientific research

Wildlife veterinary medicine

Education

Global awareness

Where We Work

Wild Spirit® works alongside SANCCOB, South Africa's leading seabird conservation organisation, supporting African penguin conservation through veterinary medicine, scientific research, rehabilitation, and public awareness

Our work focuses on SANCCOB's rehabilitation centres in Cape Town and Gqeberha, helping protect one of Africa's most threatened marine species.

Together, these actions are transforming penguin conservation from reaction to prevention

Achievements and Way Forward

What we have achieved so far

Since 2025, Wild Spirit® has supported African penguin conservation through veterinary collaboration with SANCCOB, scientific research, and international awareness.
That year, the story of Bob, a rescued African penguin, reached hundreds of thousands of viewers through Dra. Fabiola Jones (RTVE / Warner Bros.), helping introduce one of the world’s most endangered seabirds to a wider audience.
In early 2026, Colegio Margarita Salas in Toledo, Spain, became the first school to adopt the Save Bob initiative. Teachers organised fundraising activities, created awareness actions, and composed an original song to help protect African penguins

Way Forward

In 2026 and 2027, Wild Spirit® will expand its support through veterinary collaboration with SANCCOB, school education programmes, fundraising campaigns, and new public awareness initiatives.
The Save Bob campaign will become the project’s flagship educational initiative, combining conservation storytelling, school engagement, fundraising events, and music to inspire people of all ages to help protect African penguins.

Protecting a species. Inspiring a generation to care for our oceans.

In the media

In 2025, Dr. Fabiola Quesada met Bob, a rescued African penguin featured in Dr. Fabiola Jones (RTVE / Warner Bros), highlighting a simple truth: every individual matters.

The episode reached more than 750,000 viewers during prime time on Spain’s national broadcaster, La 1.

View the Show

The Numbers Behind the Impact

Project Results

In 2025, Wild Spirit Foundation® advanced African penguin conservation through rescue support, environmental education, and large-scale public awareness initiatives.