October 10, 2008

Penguins Threatened in Antarctic, Dying in South America

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penguin-lifecycle.JPGYou’d think that with penguins driving a booming Antarctic tourism industry, there’d be some climate change protection for the little guys. Not so, says a new World Wildlife Fund report. If the world’s temperature increases 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, it will threaten half of emperor penguin breeding grounds, and 75 percent of Adelie penguin colonies. The temperature rise would also likely severely impact krill, a key food source for penguins.

If that weren’t bad enough, dead, emaciated, and oil-slicked Magellanic penguins have been washing up on Brazilian beaches. Magellanic penguins live in Argentina, regularly visit Brazil, but not in the numbers or conditions seen this summer. Their lack of body fat is a bad sign that something’s seriously amiss in their environment. Many animals are imperiled by global warming, but somehow losing the penguins seems extra depressing.

Photo courtesy Wikipedia Commons.

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