A deadly strain of bird flu has officially made its way to Antarctica, raising serious alarm among scientists and wildlife advocates. According to New Scientist reporter Michael Le Page, H5N1 bird flu has been confirmed in dead skuas along the Antarctic Peninsula, marking the virus’s first known impact on the frozen continent’s wildlife. Researchers from […]
Tag: penguins
What Did Scientists Learn After Thousands of Penguins Were Slaughtered by Mountain Lions?
In 2007, only three years after the creation of Monte León National Park along the wild coastline of Argentine Patagonia, efforts to protect penguins took an unexpected turn. A female puma was slaughtering Magellanic penguins in droves. Some of these she would eat, while other surplus kills were left to rot. Before long, her cubs […]
As Oceans Warm, Predators Are Falling Out of Sync with Their Prey
For decades on the U.S. Mid-Atlantic coast, recreational anglers have braved the cold temperatures of late October and November to chase one of the region’s most iconic fish species, the striped bass. This season, just offshore of New Jersey and New York, the fall run was especially strong. “The amount of fish and [their size] […]
Emperor Penguin Returns to the Ocean After Amazing Journey
An emperor penguin named Gus made an extraordinary appearance on an Australian beach, thousands of miles away from his icy Antarctic habitat. Officials confirmed that Gus was released back into the ocean after 20 days of recovery, marking the end of his remarkable journey. Gus was discovered on November 1 in Denmark, a coastal town […]
Population crash means African penguins are now critically endangered
Africa’s only resident penguin species is now officially critically endangered, according to a recent assessment by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Over the past century, the African penguin (Spheniscus demersus) has suffered precipitous declines in its population. In the mid-1950s, there were an estimated 141,000 breeding pairs of African penguins, or 282,000 […]
Tiny Fossil Illuminates Penguin’s Surprisingly Useful Wings and How They Evolved
Sometimes, certain aspects of an animal’s biology can seem completely redundant, such as the tiny arms of a T. rex, or wings on a flightless bird. But thanks to a recent study of fossilized penguin wings, researchers were able to pinpoint when these birds had turned their seemingly pointless wings into powerful diving aides. A […]
Protected Blue Penguins Die After Dog Attack
Three of the world’s smallest penguins have been found dead after being attacked by a dog in New Zealand. The penguins, known as kororā or little blue penguins, were attacked at the Evans Bay Marina in Wellington, where they had been nesting. The species has seen huge population declines due to predation by dogs, cats, […]
One of the World’s Oldest Penguins Hatches a Chick with New Boy Toy 26 Years Younger
A great-great-great grandmother Humboldt pengiun in England’s blustery eastern coast has brought a member of yet another generation into the world after she shacked up with a bird 20-plus years her junior. Windy surprised everyone at the zoo when during the last breeding season she paired with 4-year-old Nacho. A pairing doesn’t guarantee that mating […]