Colonies of chinstrap penguins have fallen by more than half across islands in Antarctica, prompting scientific concern that “something is broken” in the world’s wildest ecosystem. After more than a month counting chicks in the South Shetland Islands, researchers suspect global heating is behind the sharp fall in numbers of the distinctive birds, which get […]
Tag: antarctica
Emperor penguins could disappear by 2100 if nations don’t cap emissions
If the climate continues to change at its current pace, most emperor penguins could become extinct by the end of this century, a new study predicts. However, if countries meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement, limiting the global increase in temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels, then that would […]
How Did a Dead Humpback Whale End Up in the Amazon Rainforest?
When they followed vultures into the rainforest on Marajó Island in Brazil, near the mouth of the Amazon River officials with the state health, sanitation and environment department made a surprising discovery. The birds were feeding on the carcass of a 10-ton, 26-foot-long humpback whale calf. The calf, about a year old, was in an […]
Japan Has Killed Over 50 Minke Whales in a Protected Area of Antarctica
Japanese whalers have already harpooned and slaughtered over 50 minke whales this year in an area of the Ross Sea in Antarctica that is off-limits to fishing. They have done this by labeling their slaughter for “scientific purposes.” The hunting of whales for profit has been banned since 1986 but Japan, Iceland and Norway have […]
World’s Largest King Penguin Colony Has Declined by Almost 90 Percent
Scientists haven’t visited the Île aux Cochons, an island in the southern Indian Ocean, since 1982 when it had the distinction of being home to the world’s largest colony of king penguins, and the second largest colony of all penguins. At the time, there were estimate to be 500,000 breeding pairs, and over two million […]
“Save the Krill” urges Greenpeace report
In Antarctica, it’s usually the whales, seals and penguins that take the spotlight, but a new report focuses on an animal further down the food chain: the Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba). In a report issued last week, Greenpeace International outlines the vital role that this minute crustacean plays in Antarctica’s marine ecology and documents incursions […]
World’s biggest wildlife reserve planned for Antarctica in global campaign
A global campaign is being launched to turn a huge tract of the seas around the Antarctic into the world’s biggest sanctuary, protecting wildlife and helping the fight against climate change. The huge 1.8m sq km reserve – five times the size of Germany – would ban all fishing in a vast area of the […]
Penguin disaster as only two chicks survive from colony of 40,000
A colony of about 40,000 Adélie penguins in Antarctica has suffered a “catastrophic breeding event” – all but two chicks have died of starvation this year. It is the second time in just four years that such devastation – not previously seen in more than 50 years of observation – has been wrought on the […]
