Saturday marked International Penguin Awareness Day and gave southern Africa a chance to focus on how its colonies of the bird are already being hit by climate change. The declining penguin population is being further affected by rising tides. Experts say South Africa has around 16-and-a-half-thousand breeding pairs of this endangered bird - compared to nearly 20-thousand pairs in 2015. CGTN's Rene Del Carme tells us more.

Boulders Beach, in Simon's Town, is named after the gigantic granite outcrops or Boulders on its shore.

And it's also home to one of the 28 African Penguin colonies endemic to the Southern African Coast, found only in South Africa and Namibia.

RENE DEL CARME SIMON'S TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA "Here in Simon's Town is the only place in the world where people can swim freely with these endangered wild birds. Their survival is under threat because they live mainly on fish. And for them, there's just not enough fish in the sea."

FAROESHKA RODGERS SECTION RANGER, SIMON'S TOWN "From research that has been done, the African penguin has to swim far distances to find their food, where in the past, this wasn't the case. We suspect that this could be from commercial trawling or over-exploitation of the food sources of the African Penguin."

Rising seas, as a result of global warming, has led to habitat destruction and a shortage of breeding spaces for these penguins. And here, at Boulders, they are encouraged to use artificial nest boxes, to increase their chances of breeding success.

Just about an hour's drive from Cape Town, this penguin colony attracts nearly a million visitors every year. Tourists - from around the world - flock here to see the vulnerable African Penguin in its natural habitat.

"It's been absolutely fantastic. I think it's been the highlight of our trip. You get to see hundreds of penguins."

"If you want to travel to South Africa, it's a good choice. You can see many penguins here. It's so cute, it's magic."

"It's really amazing to see them here. I didn't think I'd get as close as I have. And, you know, I really think it's really important that we do everything that we can to preserve these wonderful animals."

FAROESHKA RODGERS SECTION RANGER, SIMON'S TOWN "The responsibility rests on our shoulders. So, this DOES give us sleepless nights, thinking of ways of how we can stabilize the population and increase their numbers so that our kids and our children's kids can have the opportunity to enjoy this area with being able to see the African penguin in the wild. Not in a zoo or in a museum."

"What's that Darling?"

"Penguins! Penguins down there."

Rene Del Carme, CGTN, Simon's Town, Near Cape Town, South Africa.