Penguins in South Africa are being driven from their native environment because of noise from shipping activities.The African penguin lives on St. Croix island off the east coast of South Africa.The animals are already endangered.But a new study has found that African penguins are leaving their natural environment to escape noisy ship refueling operations.The island once held the world’s largest reproducing colony of the animals.But the population has dropped sharply since South Africa started permitting ships in the area to refuel at sea six years ago, the study found.Lorien Pichegru is acting director of the Coastal and Marine Research Institute at Nelson Mandela University, which led the study.She told Reuters news agency the organization had found that noise levels in the area had doubled since the refueling activities began.Scientists say high noise levels affect the ability of ocean animals to find and catch other animals for food.
