BREEDING SUCCESS OF CAPTIVE AFRICAN PENGUIN (Spheniscus demersus) AT LANGKAWI ISLAND, PENINSULAR MALAYSIA

The African penguin (Spheniscus demersus), formerly known as the Black-footed penguin or as the Jackass penguin, is found on the south-western coast of Africa. The main goals of this study are to evaluate the hatching success and survival rates among the species at Underwater World Langkawi, Malaysia (UWL). Breeding success was evaluated based on the number of eggs produced in a particular season, and the productivity, hatchability, and survival rate of the chicks from 2006 to 2011. The findings show that productivity decreased rapidly from 2006 to 2008, and then increased again to reach maximum productivity in 2010. The active breeding begins in August and reaches its peak in October. Then, the average length of the brooding period of the African penguin is 38 days. There was a high percentage of non-hatched compared to hatched eggs. The highest percentage of chick survival occurred in 2011 (83.33%), with five out of six chicks surviving. However, during 2010, there was a high rate of mortality percentage (66.67%), with four out of six chicks dying. Overall, got 16 chicks died, while 27 chicks survived at UWL during the study. Then, the entire juvenile was fledged. Furthermore, the African penguin was breeding throughout the year. However, some problems were detected in UWL, which caused many eggs not to hatch; these problems included infertile and cracked eggs, and disturbed nests. Finally, further research should be conducted in order to understand the effect of enclosed environments on penguins’ breeding success.