African penguins look much like the Humboldt penguins. African penguins have a broad band of black that is in the shape of an upside-down horseshoe on their fronts. There have black spots scattered over their chest area.
African penguins live and breed on the coast of South Africa and on the off shore islands.
During the 17th and 18th century the African penguin was killed for food and oil. More recently the collection of guano has destroyed nesting areas. At one time the population was estimated to be in the millions. This number has decreased to about 160,000 in 1993. The African penguin is a protected species, but their habitats continue to be damaged by oil spills from tankers off the Southern coast of Africa.