Scientists in Antarctica have recorded the world’s longest penguin dive, an astounding 32.2 minutes under the water; a full five minutes longer than the previous record. Emperor penguins, which live only in Antartica, are the tallest and heaviest penguins in the world, and have the best diving ability. They can dive as much as 500 […]
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 […]
During Winter Storm Grayson, aka the “Bomb Cyclone,” temperatures on the East Coast dropped below those on Mars. While 21 people had died as of Jan. 6, the storm also affected animals that aren’t used to such cold weather, including iguanas in Florida, sea turtles along the Gulf Coast and even penguins in a zoo. […]
As climate change continues to impact habitats, some animals can survive by moving to new areas. But Antarctica’s Emperor penguins may not have that luxury, according to researchers. According to a study that was led by researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), moving may help them in the short term, but as sea ice […]
As the only continent not permanently inhabited by humans, Antarctica is home to some of the most pristine ecosystems on the planet. Attracted by its fish-rich waters, some 46 species of birds, from skuas to storm petrels, have spread their wings to this largely barren, but far from lifeless, icy continent. But even on this […]
If it looks like a penguin and acts like a penguin—well, sometimes it’s not a penguin. A remote-controlled rover designed to sneak undetected into penguin colonies in Antarctica works better than other research methods, a new study says. The penguin-camouflaged technology is so realistic, it even fools live emperor penguins into trying to communicate with […]
A penguin species that lived millions of years ago would have dwarfed today’s biggest living penguins and stood as tall as most humans, according to analysis of fossils by a team of researchers from the La Plata Museum in Argentina. Palaeeudyptes klekowskii has already been dubbed the “colossus penguin”, and is the most complete fossil […]
The entire population of Antarctica’s famous emperor penguins could fall by a third by the end of the century because of disappearing sea ice, putting them at risk of extinction, researchers said on Sunday. The finding justified protecting emperor penguins under the endangered species act – as America already does for polar bear – the […]
Researchers have found leptin – a hormone that regulates body fat storage, metabolism and appetite – in the Peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) and the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata). How does the Arctic tern fly more than 70,000 km in its annual roundtrip North Pole-to-South Pole migration? How does the Emperor penguin […]
Human-caused climate change is altering the habitat of Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae). In an article recently published in PLOS ONE, a team of researchers led by Amélie Lescroël from the Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CNRS) in France, found that changes in sea-ice content and newly formed icebergs significantly impacted Adélie penguin communities in the […]
Emperor penguins are having to struggle up 100-foot walls of ice as warmer temperatures force them out of their traditional breeding grounds, a study has shown. The gravity-defying march of the penguins was spotted by British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientists in satellite images of four colonies. The birds normally breed on thin sea ice, close […]
Chances are you’ve seen an emperor penguin before—at least in photographs or while watching the movie Happy Feet. But did you know that these charismatic birds are one of the hardiest species on the planet? Emperor penguins are the world’s largest penguin and are found year-round only in Antarctica. Like other penguins they can’t fly—instead, […]
