CreatureData

Cape gannet

Morus capensis (M. H. C. Lichtenstein, 1823)

ENEndangeredbirds

The cape gannet (Morus capensis) is a species in the family Sulidae, order Suliformes. Recorded adults weigh 2.64 kg to 2.67 kg and live up to 8 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Endangered.

Cape gannet (Morus capensis)
Photo: Avitopia www.avitopia.net · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the cape gannet

Weight
2.64 kgsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
8 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
marinesrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
44 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
1src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
3.48 yearssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Aerialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Partialsrc for Migration
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the cape gannet live?

Not recorded

What is the cape gannet?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The Cape gannet (Morus capensis) is a large seabird of the gannet family, Sulidae.

They are easily identified by their large size, black and white plumage and distinctive yellow crown and hindneck. The pale blue bill is pointed with fine serrations near the tip; perhaps because of the depth and speed of the gannet's dive when fishing (depending on altitude, gannets hit the water at speeds of between 40 and 86 km/h (25 and 53 mph)), its beak has no external nostrils into which the water might be forced. The widely mentioned maximum speed of 120 km/h has never been measured and published.

From the Wikipedia article “Cape gannet” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cape_gannet&oldid=1374206198), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the cape gannet endangered?

The cape gannet is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Endangered species.

How is the cape gannet classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderSuliformes
  5. familySulidae
  6. genusMorus
  7. SpeciesMorus capensis (M. H. C. Lichtenstein, 1823)

Synonyms Dysporus capensis, Sula capensis, Sula capensis capensis

Other names and names in other languages (51)
  • CAGAEnglish
  • South African gannetEnglish
  • WitmalgasAfrikaans
  • أطيش الرأسArabic
  • أطيش الخليجArabic
  • كيب جانيتEgyptian Arabic
  • Капски рибоядBulgarian
  • Morskoul ar C'habBreton
  • mascarell del CapCatalan
  • terej jihoafrickýCzech
  • hugan y PenrhynWelsh
  • KapsuleDanish
  • KaptölpelGerman
  • kaba suloEsperanto
  • Alcatraz de El CaboSpanish
  • Piquero de El CaboSpanish
  • kapi suulaEstonian
  • سفیدغاز دماغهPersian
  • kapinsuulaFinnish
  • Fou du CapFrench
  • Gainéad cábachIrish
  • Gant y ChapeScottish Gaelic
  • Mascato do CaboGalician
  • סולת הכףHebrew
  • fokföldi szulaHungarian
  • Կապյան խևահավArmenian
  • HöfðasúlaIcelandic
  • Sula del CapoItalian
  • ケープシロカツオドリJapanese
  • kapinis padūkėlisLithuanian
  • Kāpzemes sullaLatvian
  • Kaapse jan-van-gentDutch
  • kappsuleNorwegian
  • głuptak przylądkowyPolish
  • کیپ گینٹWestern Panjabi
  • alcatraz-do-caboPortuguese
  • Alcatraz do CaboPortuguese
  • atobá-do-caboPortuguese
  • ganso-patola-do-caboPortuguese
  • Капская олушаRussian
  • KáhpasuvláNorthern Sami
  • sula tmavochvostáSlovak
  • kapski strmoglavecSlovenian
  • Kapska blunaSerbian
  • kapsulaSwedish
  • kap sumsuguTurkish
  • Kap SümsüğüTurkish
  • сула африканськаUkrainian
  • Ó biển CapeVietnamese
  • 南非鰹鳥Chinese
  • 南非鲣鸟Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the cape gannet

Other species in the same genus Morus.

CompareCape gannet vs Northern gannetCape gannet vs Australasian gannet

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the cape gannet?

An adult cape gannet weighs 2.64 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the cape gannet endangered?

The cape gannet is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

How long does the cape gannet live?

The cape gannet has a recorded lifespan of 8 years.

What kind of animal is the cape gannet?

The cape gannet (Morus capensis) belongs to the family Sulidae in the order Suliformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Cape gannet (Morus capensis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/cape-gannet

MLA

“Cape gannet (Morus capensis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/cape-gannet.

BibTeX
@misc{cape_gannet_2026,
  title = {Cape gannet (Morus capensis)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/cape-gannet},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}