Spokeswoman for South Africa National Parks said the cold was not unusual had combined with rain and windchill to deadly effect

This article is more than 10 years old

This article is more than 10 years old

Around 600 African penguins, already an endangered species, have perished in a sudden cold snap on a South African island. The birds died in cold and wet weather over the past two days at Algoa Bay in Eastern Cape province, South Africa National Parks (SanParks) said today.

A spokeswoman for South Africa National Parks said the cold was not unusual at this time of year but had combined with rain and windchill to deadly effect for the penguins on Bird Island. "The age of the chicks, between a few weeks and two months, makes them vulnerable," she said. "They are only covered with down feathers."

It was common for a third of a penguin population's chicks to die in such weather conditions, she added.

The African penguin was only this month declared an endangered species by the The International Union for the Conservation of Nature because of its declining population across South Africa.

Experts warned recently that whereas 150,000 pairs of African penguins were counted in 1956, by last year the total had plummeted to only 26,000 pairs - a loss of more than 80% in half a century.

With only 700 breeding pairs of African penguins on the island, the loss of more than half the population's chicks presents an added threat to their dwindling numbers.