Penguins Stroll Through Quiet Cape Town Street During COVID-19 Lockdown

Duration: 02:07

Three African penguins hobbled across an intersection in Cape Town, enjoying the empty streets as residents self-isolated due to COVID-19, on April 13. Mikaela Slier, who filmed this video, told Storyful that penguins were a common sight on the streets near the area of the Boulders Beach Penguin colony, close to where this footage was filmed. “To feed themselves, the penguins need to move to and from the ocean (to their nests) via the roads/streets, which is an issue for us on any normal day,” Slier said. Slier added that it was easier for rangers to manage penguins and cars during the COVID-19 lockdown in Cape Town as the rangers “don’t need to stop traffic or create an open path with a surrounding crowd when the penguins are ready to go fishing or when they come back to nests.” On April 9, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa announced an extension of the national lockdown for two more weeks. The country’s original lockdown was planned from March 26 to April 16. Credit: Mikaela Slier via Storyful