Call to Earth

These little ceramic huts are helping endangered penguins and their chicks

Story and video by Nell Lewis, CNN
5 minute read
Updated 4:18 AM EST, Thu February 23, 2023
Hundreds of little white ceramic homes are popping up along the shores of penguin colonies in South Africa. Built by conservationists, they serve as artificial nests for the African penguin.
Hundreds of little white ceramic homes are popping up along the shores of penguin colonies in South Africa. Built by conservationists, they serve as artificial nests for the African penguin.
African Penguin Nest Project
The nests are designed to give penguins a safe and cool place to lay their eggs and raise their chicks.
The nests are designed to give penguins a safe and cool place to lay their eggs and raise their chicks.
African Penguin Nest Project
Populations of the endangered bird have fallen dramatically in recent decades. In 2019, there were thought to be <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.6554" target="_blank" target="_blank">less than 20,000 breeding pairs</a>, down from an estimated 1.5 to 3 million birds in 1900.
Populations of the endangered bird have fallen dramatically in recent decades. In 2019, there were thought to be less than 20,000 breeding pairs, down from an estimated 1.5 to 3 million birds in 1900.
African Penguin Nest Project
One reason for this has been the disappearance of guano -- accumulated seabird and bat feces. The penguins used to burrow into it to make their nests. In the 19th century, traders started to exploit guano supplies and sell it as fertilizer, leaving the penguins and their eggs exposed to the heat.
One reason for this has been the disappearance of guano -- accumulated seabird and bat feces. The penguins used to burrow into it to make their nests. In the 19th century, traders started to exploit guano supplies and sell it as fertilizer, leaving the penguins and their eggs exposed to the heat.
African Penguin Nest Project
That's why a team of scientists and conservationists formed the <a href="https://www.savingpenguins.org/" target="_blank" target="_blank">African Penguin Nest Project</a> and came up with a design for an artificial nest that can fit penguin parents and two chicks inside, while maintaining an optimum temperature and humidity.
That's why a team of scientists and conservationists formed the African Penguin Nest Project and came up with a design for an artificial nest that can fit penguin parents and two chicks inside, while maintaining an optimum temperature and humidity.
African Penguin Nest Project
The nests are made from two molded shells of fabric coated in ceramic slurry and have a small entrance measuring about 20 centimeters wide. They have ventilation holes punched in the back and are painted white to reflect the sun.
The nests are made from two molded shells of fabric coated in ceramic slurry and have a small entrance measuring about 20 centimeters wide. They have ventilation holes punched in the back and are painted white to reflect the sun.
African Penguin Nest Project
Each nest is also fitted with a sensor that measures temperature and humidity, which enables researchers to monitor the nest's microclimate.
Each nest is also fitted with a sensor that measures temperature and humidity, which enables researchers to monitor the nest's microclimate.
African Penguin Nest Project
The team started deploying the nests in late 2018, and within an instant penguins were moving in, says Kevin Graham, coordinator of the African Penguin Nest Project. They have had usage rates of at least 99%, he adds, and the rates for successful hatching and the survival of fledgling chicks in artificial nests are much higher than those in natural nests.
The team started deploying the nests in late 2018, and within an instant penguins were moving in, says Kevin Graham, coordinator of the African Penguin Nest Project. They have had usage rates of at least 99%, he adds, and the rates for successful hatching and the survival of fledgling chicks in artificial nests are much higher than those in natural nests.
African Penguin Nest Project
So far, the project has installed more than 1,500 nests across five of South Africa's penguin colonies, and plans to expand into Namibia next year, the only other country with breeding populations of the species.
So far, the project has installed more than 1,500 nests across five of South Africa's penguin colonies, and plans to expand into Namibia next year, the only other country with breeding populations of the species.
African Penguin Nest Project
Graham believes they will need to deploy at least 6,000 homes in total to protect penguins nesting in exposed areas. "The goal is that every penguin that needs a nest will get one," he says.
Graham believes they will need to deploy at least 6,000 homes in total to protect penguins nesting in exposed areas. "The goal is that every penguin that needs a nest will get one," he says.
African Penguin Nest Project
These new homes for African penguins could help the species bounce back

Editor’s Note: Call to Earth is a CNN editorial series committed to reporting on the environmental challenges facing our planet, together with the solutions. Rolex’s Perpetual Planet initiative has partnered with CNN to drive awareness and education around key sustainability issues and to inspire positive action.

CNN  — 

A new form of real estate is popping up along the beaches of South Africa and on the dry, barren islands off its coast – tiny white beach huts. With good ventilation and a sea view, they are just big enough to fit a family of African penguins. Their unique selling point: a safe and cool place for penguins to breed.

African penguins, unlike their relatives that live in snow and ice, thrive in the cold currents of the South Atlantic Ocean. But when they come to land, their thick black coat absorbs the heat, and they desperately look for cover – both for themselves and their fragile eggs.

A curious penguin pokes its head out of its new artificial nest.
A curious penguin pokes its head out o