JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African scientists are fitting young penguins raised by humans with satellite transmitters so they can track them once released into the wild, hoping to gather information that might one day lead to new breeding colonies of the endangered birds.

Researchers used tape and glue to attach a transmitter the size of a matchbox to a 10-week-old African penguin Friday. The 3-kilogram (6.6-pound) bird named Richie will be given a week to get used to swimming in a pool with the 30-gram (1-ounce) device before he's released into the ocean from the southern tip of Africa. The first penguin in the project was released last month, and in all, five are to be released over a few months.

The African penguin, endearingly awkward on land and a gracefully efficient hunter in the water, is found only in southern Africa. It also is known as the jackass penguin because of its braying call. Tourists from around the world who have seen African penguins in a colony near Cape Town may not realize just how rare sightings are becoming.

The numbers of African penguins have plummeted from up to 4 million in the early 1900s to 60,000 as of the last census in 2010, said Venessa Strauss of the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds. The foundation has raised the penguins being used in the study.

Man is the reason for the drastic decrease, she said. Humans collected penguin eggs for food, ending the practice in the 1960s. The harvesting of penguin guano for fertilizer stripped a hard layer of the substance in which adult birds had burrowed to create nests safe from predators and the sun. More recently, a new threat came with oil spills and commercial fishing's competition for the anchovies and sardines on which penguins feed.

Richard Sherley of the University of Cape Town's Animal Demography Unit recognizes his South African team is in the very early stages of a long and complex process. They hope tracking the young penguins will answer questions about how early experiences influence the choice of breeding colonies.

"Not so much is known about the early life of African penguins,'' Sherley said.

The tape and glue tracking device has been successfully used in studies before. The groups said the device should stay on the penguin for enough time, possibly months, to provide useful information.

Once scientists know more about the birds' behavior, they will be able to choose a site for a breeding colony that will suit them, and that will be protected and close to abundant stocks of food. Long-term plans include setting up a hatchery.

Strauss's group raises chicks abandoned by their parents or orphaned as a result of oil spills. They strive not to tame the birds. The first one to be released, nicknamed Lucy, was "as wild as anything,'' Strauss said.