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SANCCOB
Through Stichting Wildlife, Beekse Bergen supports thirty nature conservation projects around the world. One of these projects is SANCCOB, the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds. SANCCOB’s main aim is to combat the decline in seabird populations in South Africa. They focus primarily on the African penguin. On this page, you can read all about this organisation and the work carried out here by animal keeper Kelly from Beekse Bergen.
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Follow Kelly’s journey to South Africa
In December 2025, animal carer Kelly had the opportunity to spend two weeks working at SANCCOB in South Africa. Her aim was to share knowledge about the care of African penguins and to support this species in the wild. Back in the Netherlands, we spoke to Kelly about this extraordinary journey. She learnt and experienced an incredible amount, from assisting the vets at the sanctuary to releasing penguins at Boulders Beach. Read more about her impressive journey via the link below.
The support SANCCOB provides to African penguins is of great importance
The number of breeding pairs has fallen dramatically over the past 20 years. From nearly 43,000 breeding pairs in 2005 to just 8,000 breeding pairs in 2025. If this trend continues, this remarkable species will be extinct in the wild by 2035.
What are the threats to African penguins?About SANCCOB
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Which seabirds does SANCCOB help?
SANCCOB has two rescue centres on the coast of South Africa. Here, they provide care, rehabilitation and release for sick, injured, abandoned and oil-soiled seabirds. On average, SANCCOB helps around 2,000 seabirds a year, of which approximately 1,500 are African penguins. In a year when an oil spill occurs, this number is much higher. SANCCOB also helps various species of cormorants, terns, albatrosses, gulls and pelicans.
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Other activities
SANCCOB also runs a project to incubate eggs and raise penguin chicks that have been abandoned by their parents. Since the project began in 2006, more than 4,000 young African penguins have been released into the wild. Research has been carried out into the survival rates of these penguins. These penguins have the same survival rate as chicks raised by their parents in the wild.
In addition, SANCCOB places great emphasis on education. They deliver lessons in schools and organise guided tours at their rescue centres. In this way, they aim not only to impart knowledge about seabirds, but also to raise awareness of the impact we as humans have on the marine environment.
SANCCOB’s targets for 2026 to 2030
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How did SANCCOB come about?
The SANCCOB Foundation was established in 1968, so it has now been in existence for over 55 years. It all began with one woman who took stranded penguins home and cared for them there. These penguins were mainly victims of oil spills and had oil in their feathers. This lady’s granddaughter also worked at SANCCOB for a very long time. There’s even a photo of her hanging in the office!
Now, the SANCCOB team consists of a permanent management team in the office. There are also two vets on site, a senior vet and an assistant. Every day, there are a number of permanent staff members, seven or eight volunteers and around two interns. There are also between two and six international interns who, like Kelly, are here to learn more about the care of African penguins. These may be zookeepers or students. These staff members are spread across two rescue centres in Cape Town.
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Why do we support SANCCOB through Stichting Wildlife?
Within EAZA, we collaborate with more than 300 zoos on conservation. We work together within various TAGs (Taxon Advisory Groups). These are working groups comprising specialists for all animal species covered by a TAG. These include management programme coordinators, vets and EAZA staff. These working groups consider what is required for conservation.
There is also a penguin TAG. This TAG recommends SANCCOB as a project that zoos can certainly support. This is only done if the TAG is certain that a foundation does what it promises and is entirely reputable. Stichting Wildlife has followed this advice and has been supporting SANCCOB since 2017.
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