Editing Robben Island (section)

== Wildlife and conservation ==
[[File:Table Bay from Robben Island (01).jpg|thumb|View of [[Table Bay]] from Robben Island coast]]
[[File:Blick auf Kapstadt.jpg|thumb|Robben island coast with a view of Table Mountain]]
[[File:ASC Leiden - Rietveld Collection - 17 - Blackfoot penguin (Spheniscus demersus) near trees on Robben Island - 2015.jpg|thumb|upright| Endangered [[African penguin]] on Robben Island, 2015]]
<!--[[File:ASC Leiden - Rietveld Collection - 41 - African sacred ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus) on grassland. White flowers - 2015.jpg|thumb|African sacred ibis on Robben Island, 2015]]-->

When the Dutch arrived in the area in 1652, the only large animals on the island were [[pinniped|seal]]s and birds, principally penguins. In 1654, the settlers released rabbits on the island to provide a ready source of meat for passing ships.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/historysouthafr08theagoog|title=History of South Africa Under the Administration of the Dutch East India Company (1652 to 1795)|page=[https://archive.org/details/historysouthafr08theagoog/page/n464 442]|publisher=Swan Sonnenschein|year=1897|access-date=10 October 2008|author=George McCall Theal}}</ref>

The original colony of [[African penguin]]s on the island was completely exterminated by 1800. But, since 1983, a new colony has been established there, and the modern island is again an important breeding area for the species.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.uct.ac.za/depts/stats/adu/robben.htm|title=Robben Island|author=Les Underhill|publisher=Avian Demography Unit, [[University of Cape Town]]|access-date=12 October 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305061211/http://web.uct.ac.za/depts/stats/adu/robben.htm|archive-date=5 March 2012|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The colony grew to a size of ~16,000 individuals in 2004, before starting to decline in size again. {{As of|2015}}, this decline has been continuous (to a colony size of ~3,000 individuals). Such a decline has been found at almost all other African penguin colonies. Its causes are still largely unclear and likely to vary between colonies, but at Robben Island are probably related to a diminishing of the food supply (sardines and anchovies) through competition by fisheries.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Weller|first1=F.|last2=Cecchini|first2=L.A.|last3=Shannon|first3=L.|last4=Sherley|first4=R.B.|last5=Crawford|first5=R.J.|last6=Altwegg|first6=R.|last7=Scott|first7=L.|last8=Stewart|first8=T.|last9=Jarre|first9=A.|year=2014|title=A system dynamics approach to modelling multiple drivers of the African penguin population on Robben Island, South Africa|journal=Ecological Modelling|volume=277|pages=38–56|doi=10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2014.01.013|bibcode=2014EcMod.277...38W }}</ref> Easy to see in their natural habitat, the penguins have been a popular tourist attraction.

Around 1958, Lieutenant Peter Klerck, a [[South African Navy]] officer serving on the island, introduced various animals. The following extract of an article, written by his son Michael Klerck, who lived on the island from an early age, describes the local fauna:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.robbenisland.org|publisher=robbenisland.org|title=Robben Island: Childhood Memories—a personal reflection|author=Michael Klerck|access-date=23 November 2008}}</ref>

In the early 21st century, the [[rabbit]] population had reached an estimated 25,000, which had become an [[invasive species]], endangering others. [[Humans]] are hunting and [[culling]] the rabbits to reduce their number.<ref>BBC News. ''[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8335618.stm Robben Island is 'under threat']''. 31 October 2009.</ref>