Cape Cormorants Are Considered an Endangered Species
Cape cormorants are considered endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The global population is estimated to be 234,000 mature individuals. The IUCN cites the shortage of food due due to commercial overfishing as one of the primary threats to the species. Oil pollution is another threat, and it has already resulted in mass deaths of the seabirds in the past.
As if that wasn’t enough, cormorants have to worry about predators like the great white pelican, fur seal, sacred ibis, and kelp gull. Other threats include avian cholera and guano mining—and, of course, climate change.
