There are two Schalks: one penguin and one human.
Penguin Schalk’s story begins on a bright November morning in Mossel Bay. It was the kind of morning where the sea looks calm, but life along the coastline is anything but predictable. On November 20, 2025, at National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) Station 15, a volunteer named Schalk van Bosch spotted something unusual near the slipway: a small African penguin, alone, hunched in a patch of sun, trying to gather warmth he could no longer hold.
Most people would have walked past, assuming nature would sort itself out. But not Schalk.
He stepped into the water, scooped the little penguin into his arms, and carried him to safety. That moment where one person refused to look away became the first chapter in a story of resilience, partnership, and hope.
The young penguin was rushed to SAPREC in Mossel Bay, where the team quickly realized how close he had come to the edge. He was a juvenile in arrested molt, dangerously underweight, and unable to regulate his body temperature. Without help, he wouldn’t have survived. In honor of the man who refused to leave him behind, the team named him Schalk.
At SAPREC, Schalk the penguin received more than medical care. Yes, there were antibiotic injections, tick treatments, and medication to protect him from malaria. But the real magic came from the quiet, everyday devotion of Carol Walton, SAPREC’s CEO. The steady hands feeding him, patient monitoring, and gentle encouragement told this fragile bird he wasn’t alone.
Day by day, gram by gram, Schalk grew stronger. As the new year arrived, something extraordinary happened: his first sleek black-and-white adult feathers began to appear.
Schalk’s time at SAPREC
Images provided by SAPREC
UPDATE:
By mid-January, there was no doubt left. His energy had returned. His appetite was ferocious. His enthusiasm for swimming made it clear: this penguin was ready for the ocean again.
On January 22, Schalk was carefully boxed and began the next leg of his journey. Carol drove him 3 1/2 hours to the African Penguin and Seabird Sanctuary (APSS) in Gansbaai, the final stop before freedom. She wasn’t going to let someone else finish what she’d started. When you’ve shepherded a life back from the brink, you want to see the journey through.
By February 2, Schalk weighed a healthy 3.6 kg. Strong. Bright-eyed. Ready. Soon, he would return to the waters around Dyer Island to carry him into the next chapter of his life.
Schalk’s arrival at APSS
Images provided by SAPREC
UPDATE:
On February 18, 2026, our partner APSS released Schalk back into the wild, where he will join the African penguins at the Dyer Island colony.
Schalk’s story is a reminder of what’s possible when people choose to care. A volunteer who didn’t walk past. A rehabilitation team that refused to give up. A network of partners working together for a species on the brink.
To our partners SAPREC and APSS, and to Schalk van Bosch, thank you. Your actions ripple far beyond one penguin. They remind us that every rescue matters, and that hope, when backed by action, can still swim free.