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Bees kill dozens of endangered penguins in South Africa

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Photo by Casey Allen on Unsplash" src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/news/09/20/penguins.jpg"/><figcaption><em>Photo by Casey Allen on Unsplash</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa - A swarm of bees has killed 63 endangered African penguins on a beach outside Cape Town, the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds said on Sunday.</p><p>&quot;After tests, we found bee stings around the penguins&#x27; eyes,&quot; said the foundation&#x27;s David Roberts, a clinical veterinarian.</p><p>&quot;This is a very rare occurrence. We do not expect it to happen often, its a fluke.</p><p>&quot;There were also dead bees on the scene,&quot; he told AFP by telephone.</p><p>The protected birds, found on Friday, were from a colony at Simonstown, a small town near Cape Town.</p><p>The area is a national park and the Cape honey bees are part of the ecosystem.</p><p>&quot;The penguins... must not die just like that as they are already in danger of extinction. They are a protected species,&quot; said Roberts.</p><p>The South African National Parks said the birds were taken to the foundation for post-mortems and samples sent for disease and toxicology testing.</p><p>&quot;There were no external physical injuries found on any of the birds,&quot; a parks statement said.</p><p>The post-mortems showed all the penguins had multiple bee stings.</p><p>African penguins, which inhabit the coast and islands of southern Africa, are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature&#x27;s red list, meaning they face a high risk of extinction.</p><div><strong>str-cld/bp/gd</strong></div><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1777829" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

A swarm of bees has killed 63 endangered African penguins on a beach outside Cape Town.